The Forgotten Heir
by Tori of Lorien
Summary: Sequel to 'Three Words'. Eight years after the finding of the Jesse James treasure, there is a lasting peace in the Gates family. But soon, the world they know is threatened, and a new treasure will determine the fate of all humanity. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**The Forgotten Heir**

**Summary**: Sequel to "Three Words". Eight years after the finding of the Jesse James treasure, there is a lasting peace in the Gates family. But they are soon dragged into another treasure hunt that threatens the world they know and will ultimately determine the fate of all humanity.

**Disclaimer**: No one from the movies are mine, and neither is the Christmas holiday and Batman. Clara, however, is mine.

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! I'm glad that you liked "Three Words" so much! I hope you like this one as well. But I would like to take this time to remind you that if you're just stumbling upon this story for the first time, please read "Three Words" first. Otherwise, enjoy this first chapter (I wasn't planning on having this up for about another week yet, but I decided that now would be a good time)! I also want to note that I'm not used to writing like this, but the first couple of chapters feel like (at least to me) that they aren't going anywhere. But that's because I have to establish the fact that this is a peaceful time for our favorite family, and this was the only way to do it. Just keep in mind that trailer that I wrote because everything there (and more!) will be happening soon. No flames please! So, let's get this story started!

Chapter 1

The eight-year-old girl's eyes snapped open, and she sat up quickly in bed. Throwing off the covers, she jumped to the floor and ran out of her room as quickly as she could. She hurried down the stairs and rushed into the living room where her family's giant Christmas tree stood, beautifully lit. Her eyes lit up like the strands of lights when she saw the presents beneath the tree and that her stocking hanging over the fireplace was filled. Squealing with excitement, she turned back around and ran back the way she had come, but instead of going into her own room, she went into the room next to hers.

"Daddy, wake up!" Clara Gates exclaimed, not minding that it was only four in the morning as she jumped up on the bed. "Come on, Daddy!"

Ben groaned tiredly as he was brought out of sleep and rolled over on to his back, stopping his bouncing daughter. "Clara, what are you doing?" he muttered, holding on to her arms as he groggily looked at the electric clock beside him. "It's only four…"

"But it's Christmas!" Clara continued brightly, wiggling out of her dad's hands. "Santa's been here! Santa's been here! When can we open presents?"

"Not for a couple of hours yet so we're not falling asleep," Abigail said sleepily, having been wakened by her excited daughter also. "But for now, you may go see which ones are yours and then go through your stocking when we come down."

Clara smiled broadly. "Thank you, Mommy!" she cried, hugging both of her parents before jumping off the bed and running back downstairs.

"Remember, Clara, stocking _only_ when we come down!" Abigail shouted after her, but then she sighed and lay back against her pillow.

Ben smirked. "She's just full of energy, isn't she?" he muttered, his voice thick with sleep.

"Yes. You would think that we'd be used to this whole being parents on Christmas morning thing by now," Abigail replied, moving closer to her husband.

"I know." Ben smiled, looking down at his wife. "You know, those cookies you made and put out last night were _really_ good this year."

Abigail slowly raised her head, a quizzical expression on her face. But then, she returned the smile. "You're welcome, _Santa_."

Ben laughed a little. "Should we go down before Clara demolishes the house in her excitement?" he asked.

"That would probably be a good idea," Abigail answered, kissing Ben quickly before climbing out of bed and putting on her robe to shield herself from the damp air. Ben followed her, stretching as he grabbed his robe. He was just relieved that their already hyper daughter wasn't going to have any sugar until later that morning.

Time seemed to pass by slowly that morning, though it really went by quickly. After going through her stocking and opening presents from her parents and Santa, getting things such as a diary with pages that looked like the Declaration of Independence, a small history joke book, and a history version of _Stratego_, Clara spent a lot of time watching Christmas-based cartoons on television to pass the time. Abigail spent all of her morning in the kitchen, baking more cookies and cooking the ham and scalloped potatoes. Ben helped Abigail for the first part of his morning, but then he went into the living room and watched television with his daughter after his wife kicked him out.

Then, around nine, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Clara exclaimed, jumping to her feet before Ben could. She ran into the large hall and unlocked the door, pulling it open.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have the wrong house," the man at the door said. "You look too cool to live here."

Clara smiled broadly. "Uncle Riley!" she cried, hugging him tightly.

Riley smiled as he hugged her back. "Hey, my little bundle of joy," he said, kissing her on top of her now-blonde head.

"I'm _eight_, Uncle Riley," Clara muttered in an embarrassed way.

"I know that, but you'll always be my little bundle of joy," Riley smiled. "So, how early were you up this morning?"

"Four," Clara told him proudly, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Good. Good. But you still can't beat the master," Riley replied. "Three-thirty."

"Aw, man!"

"Don't give her any ideas, Riley, please."

Riley and Clara both watched as Ben entered the hall. "Me? Corrupting your youth?" the younger man asked innocently. "Never."

Ben smiled as he hugged his best friend. "Merry Christmas, Riley."

"Merry Christmas, Ben."

"Come on, Uncle Riley!" Clara said with excitement, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the living room. "Come see what Santa brought!"

"All right. Let me just say hello to your mother first. Then, you can show me all your neat stuff." Riley set a bag that he had brought with him on the couch before walking into the kitchen. "Hey, Abi."

Abigail quickly turned away from the cookies she was putting into a bowl, and she smiled when she saw him. "Hey, Riley! Merry Christmas!" she said, hugging him when he approached.

"Merry Christmas to you too," Riley replied. Then, he snatched a cookie from the bowl. "You know, they _are_ the best when they're warm."

"Riley!" Abigail yelled as he ran to the safety of the living room. Then, Clara snuck into the kitchen from the other entrance and took a cookie from behind her mother. Abigail whirled around, but her daughter was already out of the kitchen. "Clara!"

Abigail sighed, making sure that the rest of the cookies she had made were protected. "Note to self- no more sleepovers at Uncle Riley's for her."

Riley high-fived Clara when she sat on the couch beside him with a cookie in her hand. "Great job, girl!" he praised. "I have taught you well."

Clara nodded, snuggling up to him as they began watching the Batman Christmas special as they ate the cookies they had taken. Ben shook his head and laughed, but then he went into the hall when the doorbell rang again. "Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad," the treasure hunter greeted when he opened the door.

"Merry Christmas, Ben," Emily said, hugging her son tightly. "How are you?"

"Fine, Mom," Ben told her as Patrick gave him a one-armed hug. "Everyone is either in the living room or kitchen. Come on in."

Emily led the way into the living room, smiling when she saw her granddaughter and Riley watching television together. "There's my little Clara."

Clara looked over her shoulder when she heard her name, and she smiled brightly when she saw Emily. "Grandma!" she shouted excitedly, jumping off the couch and hugging her tightly.

"Merry Christmas, dear," Emily said after she released her. "And Riley too. Come here, honey."

Riley smiled as he got up from the couch and was pulled into a hug by the woman he had begun to consider a mother. "Merry Christmas, Emily."

"Grandpa!" Clara exclaimed, running over to him as soon as Patrick entered the room.

"Ah, there's my girl," Patrick said cheerfully, picking her up and kissing her cheek before setting her back down. "Have you been good this year?"

"Very good, Grandpa," Clara answered with a sweet smile.

"That's good because our own personal Santa should be arriving shortly," Patrick told her with a smile of his own. Then, he turned to Ben nervously, who was standing next to him. "It wasn't supposed to be me this year, was it?" he asked.

"No, Dad. Riley's next year, and you're after him," Ben told him.

Patrick sighed with relief, giving Riley a one-armed hug when he approached. "That's good."

Then, Abigail came out of the kitchen, carrying the bowl of cookies that she had made. "Merry Christmas, everybody!" she exclaimed, setting them on a small table in the living room before getting hugs from both Patrick and Emily. "Help yourselves to some cookies, but not too many because the ham and potatoes will be ready soon."

"Mmm. It smells wonderful, dear," Emily commented, following Abigail back into the kitchen to see if she could help with anything. "You've been busy, I see."

Patrick sat down on the couch while Riley and Clara spread out on the floor, all watching as the cartoon Batman kicked The Penguin's, who was wearing a Santa suit, butt and giving all of the orphan children back their presents. Ben grabbed a cookie, preparing to join them, but then left the room again when the doorbell rang for the third time. He opened the door, smiling when he saw a man in a Santa suit standing outside with a bag in his hands.

"Happy Holidays!"

"Hey, Sadusky," Ben said with a smile. "Come on in."

The FBI agent stepped inside, giving him a small smile. He had joined the Gates tradition of each male in the family taking turns dressing up as Santa since he had become a close friend to the family. "I can only stay for a little while," he told the treasure hunter. "My wife and sons have already opened all of our presents with me, but Susanna's parents are coming over later this afternoon, and she wants me home for that, especially since Matt's home as well. We want to spend as much time with him as possible."

Ben returned the smile. "Perfectly understandable," he replied, knowing that the agent's oldest son was visiting home from college for the holidays. "But I'm sure Abigail will want to send some of our food home with you also. But for now, come join the party."

As Peter Sadusky entered the living room with a cry of, "Ho ho ho!" and hearing Clara's shout of excitement, Ben felt an overpowering feeling of relief come over him. This was his favorite time of year since nothing ever went wrong with the Gates family. The day was going to be perfect.

**A/N**: As I said before, not much going on now except for all the fluffy, happy stuff. But don't worry. You know me; that will change later. I forgot to mention that I have invented a family for Sadusky. Matthew, his oldest son, is a freshman in college and Jacob, the younger, is in eighth grade. Credit for the names goes to my mother, since she found them for me because she considers Peter to be a Biblical name. But thanks for reading! I hope you liked the start of it. Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I disclaim everything from Disney, Grimm, Apple, and Batman. I think that's it… Everything else is mine!

**A/N**: Ah! Thanks for being so supportive of this story guys, even though I'm not too thrilled about these first couple of chapters. Just remember the trailer- we will get there. But anywho, thanks to **daisyduke80**, **fantomfairy**, **doodlegirll**, **Maira Blue**, **supernatural16**, **Rose of Hope**, **Halo**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **AliuIce0814**, and **Spellinggirl **for your quick and wonderful reviews. It's wonderful to see a lot of you back and some new people as well! Thanks for reviewing! So, on to the next chapter. It's pretty much light and fluffy like the last one except for the ending. So, enjoy!

Chapter Two

Ben, Abigail, Patrick, and Emily sat on the couch while Riley and Clara sat in front of them on the floor, Sadusky passing out the presents that he had brought in his bag. Clara was thrilled when she got all of the animated movies of Batman, and Abigail and Emily both loved the new brownie, cookie, and cake mixes that the agent's wife had suggested. Riley got a new computer game that Sadusky's sons, Matthew and Jacob, had wanted to get for him so they could challenge him to see how long it took to complete it, and Ben laughed at the official not-an-FBI-agent badge that was meant as a joke. Patrick liked the afghan for his and Emily's new couch that he received, and he laughed while Emily smiled when Sadusky told him that it might contain "secret stitching". Then, he regrettably had to leave so he could get home to meet with his in-laws, but not without the plate of cookies, ham, and scalloped potatoes that Abigail sent with him for him and his family.

Then, it was Riley's turn to hand out presents. He started with Emily, giving her a "best non-biological mother in the world" sweater, and Patrick got one also, except that it said "father" instead of "mother". Ben smiled when he read Riley's personalized card that read, "How many history buffs does it take to steal the Declaration of Independence?" on the front. On the inside, it read, "Only one! Now what else do you want?", along with one-hundred dollars. Abigail loved the new china set that she had gotten with decorations that resembled ancient documents on them, but Clara's gift was the most exciting.

"You got her an _iPod_?!" Abigail exclaimed after her daughter unwrapped her gift.

"Well, yeah. Every kid needs an iPod," Riley replied casually. "I honestly don't see how you survive without one. But wait. There's more." The techie took the box from his niece and opened it. "One of my friends is in the business with these things, and look. He personalized it for her." He flipped the small music device over to show them the back. "Look. The Batman symbol is engraved in it!"

Abigail rolled her eyes while Ben struggled to hold back a laugh. Then, Patrick began to pass out the gifts that he and Emily had brought. He handed Clara hers first, but Ben stopped her before she could begin tearing at the paper.

"Before you open it, Clara, what years did the Civil War last?" Ben asked off-handedly.

"1861 to 1865," Clara answered proudly.

"And who was president?"

"Abraham Lincoln."

"How about during World War One?"

"Woodrow Wilson."

"World War Two?"

"Franklin D. Roosevelt."

"What else did he get us through?"

"The Great Depression, though it was World War Two that brought us out of it, not his efforts."

Ben nodded approvingly while Abigail leaned forward. "Just a couple of more, dear," she said. "What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?"

"The Bill of Rights," Clara told her without hesitation.

"What was America's first written form of Constitution?"

"The Articles of Confederation."

"Which later became what?"

"Our own Constitution."

"What document was used as a last ditch effort passed by the Continental Congress that told of American loyalty to England while begging the king for no more hostilities during the Revolutionary era?"

"The Olive Branch Petition."

"And here's a bonus. What are the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth amendments?"

"Income tax, direct election of senators, and national prohibition."

Abigail beamed. "Very good, Clara. Go on and open your present, dear."

Patrick exchanged a startled look with Emily about how much information their granddaughter had just given so easily and what else she knew that she _hadn't_ told, but Riley wasn't surprised in the least. Clara _was_ the daughter of Ben and Abigail after all… But _he_ had taught her some neat things as well.

Clara smiled with excitement when she saw the special edition DVD of the animated movie _Anastasia_, which had been one of her favorite movies when she saw it in theaters. She hugged Patrick and Emily tightly, and then proceeded to immediately put it into the DVD player.

Riley laughed at his "I love laptops" mug and small, realistic statue of a golden Native American man, and Abigail loved the new cooking pot that cooked everything that she could ever want in the kitchen. But when Ben opened his present, he stopped and stared at it in awe.

It was a framed photograph of the entire family- Ben, Abigail, Riley, Clara, Patrick, and Emily on their trip they had taken to Niagara Falls the year before. The frame itself was significant, having on it colored carvings of the American flag, the Declaration of Independence, the American Eagle, and the Statue of Liberty. The treasure hunger looked up at his smiling parents, muttering a simple, "Thank you."

Emily smiled while Patrick nodded in return, both knowing that this gift was going to make an impact on everyone.

After eating the wonderful lunch that Abigail had spent the morning preparing, Riley, Clara, Ben, and Patrick went outside to have a snowball fight while Abigail and Emily stayed inside to clean up the living room and kitchen. Riley and Clara teamed up against Ben and Patrick, and even though they fought until evening, there was no winner. Once everyone was back inside and warming up, Ben lit the fireplace and Abigail made steaming mugs of hot chocolate. The family then gathered around the fireplace and still lit Christmas tree, merely watching the flames.

"Can Uncle Riley tell a story?" Clara suddenly asked.

Ben shrugged. "It's up to him," he answered. "Why don't you ask him, Clara?"

"Please, Uncle Riley?" Clara said excitedly, turning to the techie. "You tell amazing stories!"

"Well, I don't know…" Riley began, but then he grinned. "All right." He got to his feet and stood in the middle of the living room when he saw his niece's excited smile. "Now, I'm not going to tell you any history stories because that's what you dad does. I'm going to tell you a different kind of story. Have you ever heard of _Beauty and the Beast_? Not the Disney one, but the original Grimm fairy tale?"

Clara shook her head in answer, and Riley looked at his best friend with awe. "Ben, you've deprived this child!" he exclaimed. "But anyway, here we go. Once upon a time as a merchant set off for market, he asked each of his three daughters what she would like as a present on his return. The first daughter…"

As Riley went through the story, he had the entire family laughing because of his different voices for each character and his acting out of the words he was speaking. "The wedding took place shortly after, and from that day on, the young Prince would have nothing but roses in his gardens. And that's why, to this day, the castle is known as the Castle of the Rose. The end."

He was met with applause when he was finished and sat back down, and the techie smiled when Clara sat down in his lap. "Can that really happen, Uncle Riley?" she asked. "Can love really change a beast into a man?"

"Well, yeah. It worked on you dad, didn't it?" Riley said. Everyone except for Ben laughed at the comment, and then the younger man smiled. "I'm just kidding. Maybe not physically, but love definitely changes a person. A lot of things do actually, like jealousy and greed. But on a lighter note, did you enjoy the story?"

Clara nodded with a smile, but she looked up at Riley curiously. She had seen a strange look in his eyes that she had never seen before when he had mentioned how jealousy and greed also changed people, and she wanted to ask him about it. But before she could, Ben stood up from the couch and placed his hand on her head. "All right, Clara. It's time for bed."

"Aw, Daddy! Five more minutes?" Clara pleaded. "Besides, I'm not even tired!"

"No, Clara," Ben answered sternly, remembering seeing her yawn only a couple of minutes before. "It's already past your bedtime."

"Oh, come on, Ben. It's Christmas," Abigail said, standing up and placing her chin on her husband's shoulder. "Let her stay up a little while yet."

Ben looked back at her, a small smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "You're too nice, you know that?" he muttered.

Abigail smiled back. "That's what I've been told," she replied, laughing a little before Ben kissed her.

But as time wore on, Clara began to get drowsy. She leaned against Riley's chest, nearly falling asleep just as Patrick and Emily decided to leave. After they said their good-byes, Riley thought that it was time for him to leave as well. Clara woke up again when Ben picked her up off of the techie's lap so his best friend could move.

"Bye, Uncle Riley," Clara muttered tiredly.

"See ya', my little bundle of joy," Riley said, kissing her cheek. "I'll see you soon, okay? Ben, Abs, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Riley!"

After the techie left, Ben carried his exhausted daughter upstairs to her room, waited until she changed her into her pajamas, and then tucked her into bed. Clara looked up at the treasure hunter curiously as he gave her the stuffed white tiger that she had had since she was one year old that had been given to her on her first birthday by Riley and pulled her blanket up to her shoulders. "Daddy, did something happen to Uncle Riley?"

"No, Clara," Ben answered as he sat down on the bed beside her. "Why do you ask that?"

"I don't know. He just looked so sad before…" Clara muttered thoughtfully.

Ben sighed. "Well, don't worry about that, Clara. Your Uncle Riley's fine," he told her, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "Get some sleep now, okay?"

Clara nodded and laid back against her pillow, closing her eyes as she held her tiger close to her. Ben slowly stood up and walked over to the doorway, looking back at his sleeping daughter before turning off the light.

"Merry Christmas, Clara."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian Howe stared down at the small digital camera in his hand, sighing deeply. The electronic device had been a Christmas gift from Shaw almost thirteen years before, before they even had plans to go on Ben's treasure hunt, and it was a way of remembering his friend every holiday. The English man closed his eyes, clearly seeing his right hand man falling through the worn wooden walkway beneath Trinity Church in his mind, merely able to watch helplessly as he tumbled down into complete blackness, never to be seen again.

"_Shaw! Oh, God, Shaw!"_

Ian's hand tightened around the camera. The memory of Shaw's death was still painful to think about…

Then, his eyes slowly opened when he heard the door open behind him. Ian slowly turned around and saw that Nick had entered, appearing to be almost cautious. He also noticed that he had a pale tint to his face, most likely from not having proper nutrition and constant sun deprivation for the past eight years, which reminded him of the time when his stepbrother was sick with the flu, and he was the only one that could take care of him. But that was the sacrifice that they both had to make, along with Powell and Dustin, if they wanted to avoid being caught by the police and being thrown in prison.

"We've all been looking for you," the younger man said quietly. Then, his eyes faltered when they landed on the digital camera in his stepbrother's hand, recognizing who it was from. "Is now a bad time?"

"No, Nick. No," Ian muttered, setting the camera back down on the wooden table behind him. "What do you need?"

"We've all been a little concerned about you. Well, Powell and I have at least," Nick muttered. "Dustin doesn't really… But anyway, are you okay? You've been in here alone for a long time now…"

Ian mustered up the best smile that he could. "I'm fine, Nick. Just thinking…"

Nick nodded, giving him a small smile. "Some Christmas, huh?" he asked.

The English man returned the smile, pulling Nick into a one-armed hug. "Yes. Some Christmas, little brother."

Then, the door opened and Powell entered, holding a newspaper article in his hand. "Look what one of Dustin's friends sent him from home," he said, handing it to Ian. "I thought it might catch your interest."

Ian quickly looked it over, and his eyes shone when he saw the content. "A diamond jewelry set that was discovered in Russia and is believed to have been owned by the Romanov family," he read with interest. "Including a necklace, five sets of earrings, seven bracelets, seven rings, and once scepter. To be displayed in one month at the downtown museum in Washington D.C." He looked up at Powell and Nick. "Do you know how much that would be worth, gentlemen?"

"A lot," Powell muttered while Nick nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure Gates would be going," Ian said, mainly to himself as he folded up the newspaper article and handed it back to Powell. "After all, the Romanovs are one of the most famous families in history."

"I'm sensing a trip back home," Nick told him with a smile.

Ian returned the smile. "This just might be a Merry Christmas after all."

**A/N**: Okay, the plot moves ahead a little at the end there, so I'm slightly happier. So from now on, we should be moving forward! Just a note on how I'm portraying Ian. The reason that he's one of my favorite movie villains is because there are many layers to him. In this story, he's still going to be after treasure and all (as you can probably tell by the ending here), but he's also slightly more conserved. He's lost Shaw already, which is what he's reflecting on, and it's a hidden fear that it could be Nick since he almost lost him in my last story. So yeah, you'll see a lot of familiar Ian characteristics, but I'm bringing out the other sides of him that a lot of people often forget. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from Disney is mine, so don't sue me!

**A/N**: Ha! _Sweeny Todd_ is officially mine on DVD!! Mwahahahahaha! I got it for my mom's birthday since it came out the day before, but it's something we both enjoy. And it's really nice out today, hence why I'm in such a good mood! Okay, anyway… moving on… Thank you so much to **doodlegirll**,** Rose of Hope**, **fantomfairy**, **daisyduke80**, **Miss Hermione Jane** **Granger**, **bigmacsparkey**, **Halo**, and **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh** for your wonderful reviews! You guys rock! So, don't kill me, but I don't know Russian in the least, so the tiny little phrases in _Italics_ I'm going to be adding in are from the Internet. So, please, anyone who knows Russian, don't attack something or me if they're wrong! Please? Okay, now that I'm slightly assured, let's get on with this chapter! Beware the complete randomness at the beginning. Oh, and the ending is supposed to be made up of short, choppy sections. Think of it like the first movie when it goes from showing Ben trying to steal the Declaration to Ian and co. trying to steal the Declaration. Same sorta thing here. All right, enough of my rambling. Enjoy! No slash between Riley and Ben like always.

Chapter Three

Ben smiled awkwardly at all of the eight-year-olds staring at him expectantly. Clara stood beside him, beaming proudly since this was one of her favorite days of the school year- Parent Day. "All right, Miss Gates," a woman standing in the back of the classroom said. "Tell us what your father does for a living."

"My dad is a treasure hunter," Clara explained with a broad smile.

There was a chorus of "oohs" from the class, and the teacher smiled. "All right then. Take it away, Mr. Gates," she told him.

"Well, as Clara said, I am a treasure hunter," Ben told the children. "I find treasures and have them displayed so the public can enjoy them also. It all began when I was a child, a little older than you are, when my grandfather told me about the Templar Treasure a treasure that was said to be so great that no one man could own it. This was the first treasure that I found with the help of my father and a couple of my friends. Then-!"

Ben stopped when one of the kids in the back of the room raised his hand. "Yes?"

"Does that mean that there was really an invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence?" he asked.

"Yes, there was," Ben answered. "And-!"

"How did you get to look at it?" one of the girls interrupted in question.

Ben hesitated while Clara smirked. "Well, we had the, uh, privilege to examine it with the… permission of a friend of mine," he said. "But the Templar Treasure wasn't the only one we found. The next one was Cibola, the lost City of Gold-!"

"Like El Dorado?"

"Well, yes," Ben muttered, tired of being interrupted. "In-!"

This time, a loud bell ringing stopped the treasure hunter. "Well, kids. Time for lunch!" the teacher announced with a smile. "But before you go, make sure you properly thank Mr. Gates for his time here today."

Clara hugged Ben tightly while the rest of the class clapped loudly before running out of the room to go eat.

Xxxxxxxxxx

While his daughter ate with all of her friends, Ben had lunch with Clara's teacher, Mrs. Johnson, and the rest of the parents who were there for the annual Parent Day.

"You have a very interesting job, Mr. Gates, and I would have liked to know more if you wouldn't have been interrupted by the lunch bell," Mrs. Johnson commented as she put dressing on her salad. "Are there any risks involved?"

"Oh, yeah. There's always danger," Ben answered casually as he took a bite of his pizza. "I mean, I've stolen the Declaration of Independence and kidnapped the president of the United States. There are a lot of risks."

Mrs. Johnson stared at him in shock while the parents sitting around him did the same. Ben looked back at them, but was saved from explaining by his cell phone ringing. He quickly took it out and flipped it open. "Hello?" he said. He was silent as he listened for a minute, and then he nodded. "All right. Be there in a minute."

"You have to leave?" Mrs. Johnson asked as she watched the treasure hunter stand up.

"Yeah, sorry," Ben answered as he gathered all of his garbage. "Thanks for having me come in."

"You're welcome. Thank you for coming."

After kissing his daughter goodbye and throwing away his garbage, Ben hurried out of the cafeteria and signed out of the office before rushing out of the building. Almost right on cue, a red Ferrari pulled up in front of him, a grinning Riley visible through the window behind the wheel.

"You're a mind reader, Riley," Ben muttered as he climbed in the passenger side and put on his seatbelt.

"I'll add it to my list of talents," Riley said as a joke as he drove out of the parking lot. "I figured you'd want to get away from all the kiddies. But Abi did want me to show you something. It's on the dashboard in front of you."

Ben reached forward and took the flyer, looking it over curiously. "Jeweled set discovered in Russia believed to belong to the Romanov family," he read. "To be displayed at our own museum in two weeks."

Riley grinned. "Catch your interest?" he asked.

"How did you know?" Ben responded, returning the grin.

"Well, maybe because you're a history nerd…"

Ben smirked. "You know me too well."

Riley nodded, turning up the radio a little when the remake of the song "You Really Got Me" by Van Halen came on. "Are we going to go?" he wondered.

"Of course," Ben told him with a teasing smile. "So you'd better find a date."

Xxxxxxxxxx

The next couple of weeks passed by slowly. Clara got a lot of use out of the iPod she had gotten for Christmas along with her _Anastasia_ DVD. Since she now knew all of the words to all of the songs, Abigail teased that their daughter would one day be mistaken for the real princess.

As the night of the Romanov jewelry display drew nearer, Ben felt and underlined fear beginning to surface. Even though it had been eight years since they had heard of him, the treasure hunter remembered hearing from Agent Sadusky that Ian Howe, along with Nick, Dustin, and Powell, had never even made it to prison after the English man's stepbrother had recovered enough from his gunshot wound to be moved. The FBI agent had tried countless times to search for them in the city and the surrounding area, and having no luck, the case was dropped.

But Ben didn't give up. He had Riley try to track Ian down through his cell phone from a program on his laptop. Though he tried reluctantly, Riley didn't feel like they were going to have any success.

"Ian knows us too well, Ben," the techie had explained. "I'm sure he expects us to find him somehow through his cell phone, so I'm sure he has some sort of protection on it. You can do that now, you know."

"Well, thanks for tying anyway," Ben muttered with defeat.

Clara had noticed that there was something off about her dad, but she forgot about it when Ben told her that there was going to be a display of items that had possibly belonged to the royal family from her favorite movie and even to Anastasia herself. Abigail took her shopping for a dress for the event, and she dragged Ben and Riley along just to torture them. But once a dress was picked, even the techie had to admit that his niece looked beautiful in it.

Finally, the night of the display arrived. People from across America and around the world flocked to Washington D.C. for the event. Ben, Riley, Abigail, and Clara had V.I.P. passes since the family had contributed so much to the museum, and they were considered to be honored guests. Flashing lights were everywhere from many cameras, and Clara found herself constantly holding tightly to her father, mother, or uncle's hand. Ben searched the large crowd of people for someone that he recognized, smiling when he saw Peter Sadusky and his family.

Xxxxxxxxxx

From above the massive third floor hall, four pairs of eyes watched the commotion from the air vent.

"Ready?" Ian asked quietly with a smirk.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben left Abigail, Riley, and Clara as he wove his way through the crowd to the FBI agent. "Sadusky," he greeted, shaking his hand with a smile. Then, he quickly embraced Susanna and shook hands with Matthew and Jacob.

"_Zd'rravstvuite_. Hello," a thick Russian accent said from behind them.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Nick met his stepbrother's eyes while Powell nodded and Dustin sighed indifferently.

"Ready when you are."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben and Sadusky turned to face who had approached them, seeing a man with black hair tied back behind his head with deep green eyes. "I see by your badge that you are the head of the FBI," the man commented.

"Yes. I'm Peter Sadusky." The two shook hands, and the Russian man turned to the treasure hunter.

"And you are?"

"Ben Gates," Ben told him in a friendly manner, shaking his hand also.

The man nodded politely. "I have heard of you, Mr. Gates. I am Artem."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Dustin surveyed the scene below them curiously. "The jeweled set should be revealed soon," he muttered. Then, someone in the crowd stood out to him, making his gaze falter and then harden angrily.

It was Riley.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Dad?"

Sadusky turned around, seeing that his youngest, brown-haired son was looking up at him with boredom in his brown eyes. "Can't we go look at the other exhibits?" Jacob asked. "This is boring."

"The other exhibits aren't open right now, Jacob," Sadusky answered, pulling him to his side in a quick, one-armed hug. "Go back to your mother for now. Remember, I promised you all ice cream after."

Artem's eyes lingered on Jacob for a moment, watching as he walked over to a woman with shoulder-length, deep red hair and an older boy who had brown hair like the younger but was a little lighter. This was the FBI agent's family…

Xxxxxxxxxx

Powell looked at Dustin nervously, but then his attention was switched to beneath them at the hall when an older man approached a raised platform with Ben and Riley with him.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Daniel Richards, now the curator of the museum, walked up to a platform with Ben and Riley, standing before what appeared to be a large box covered by long, black velvet.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, what you have all been waiting for!" the older man announced. "The jewels of the Romanov family!" Then, he removed the cover, revealing the glass box beneath with the sparkling jewelry and other items inside, ranging from necklaces, to earrings, to bracelets, to even a scepter.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian smirked when he saw the display finally shown.

"Let's go."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Suddenly, a loud gunshot rang out, causing the entire hall to scream and then go quiet. Ben's eyes narrowed when he saw the smirking face of Artem holding the gun in the air. Then, three more shots rang out from other places in the hall, and the treasure hunter saw three more men with weapons were standing around the perimeter of the room. Two had light blond hair and brown eyes and appeared to be related while the last man had long gray hair tied back, a scar going through his left glazed over, blue eye.

Ben was startled when Artem ran up the stairs, forcing him, Daniel, and Riley away from the display with his gun. He raised the metallic weapon above his head and brought it down heavily on the box, shattering the glass.

Then, there was chaos.

**A/N**: Well fortunately, the plot is beginning to move along now. Sorry for the slight cliffie. Again, please don't attack, maul, or kill me if my Russian is wrong since I do not speak it. Hopefully, it will work for the purpose of this story. And, hmm… who are these new men with guns? You'll have to find out! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: Disclaiming everything from Disney now: I don't own anything except for the plot and the characters that I made up!

**A/N**: Hey! Sorry for the longish update. This chapter took me a while because it has a lot of skipping around in it like the last chapter did, and I'm not exactly happy with it (but hopefully you guys think differently!). Thank you so much to **fantomfairy**, **Yin7**, **daisyduke80**, **Rose of Hope**, **Majestik Moose**, **Charlotte Lewis** (that translator may come in handy…), **AliuIce0814**, **Maira Blue**, **supernatural16**, **bigmacsparkey**, **Miss Fenway** (welcome back!), **momiji'sunusedhalo** (welcome back also!), and **Halo** for your wonderful reviews! You guys rock! Oh, and I also use some more Russian words in this chapter (they will be in _italics_ again). Since I do not speak Russian, I am going off a website that told me what some words meant, so please no killing of the author! Then, you wouldn't know what happens next, now would you? Lol! All right, hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Four

Ben and Riley quickly backed away from the shattering glass, covering their faces to protect themselves while Daniel moved away in another direction. Then, they looked above them when the metal grate of the air vent crashed to the ground and as a rope was dropped through. The two friends watched in terror as a blond-haired man quickly climbed down the rope and landed on the floor, and the treasure hunter's breath caught when he found himself looking into the face of Ian Howe.

"Hello, Ben."

Artem seemed amused by the new arrival as he quickly turned his gun toward him. "I don't know what you plan on doing, but those jewels are mine," he muttered. But before he could do anything, he looked down the stairs when another soft click reached his ears.

"Put the gun down and you won't be hurt," Agent Sadusky said, aiming his gun at Artem.

But Ian laughed. "You misunderstand, agent, I don't need protecting," he replied, taking out his own gun and aiming it at the Russian man.

Sadusky glared up at the English man. "I'm _not_ protecting _you_, Howe," he hissed.

Artem didn't seem affected by the fact that he had two weapons directed at him. Instead, he pulled out what appeared to be a walkie-talkie and spoke a few words in Russian into it, but there was one word that Ben could pick out, which was a name.

"Ivan."

The treasure hunter's eyes narrowed as he watched the man with long gray hair and one blind eye began to move through the crowd of people, but was soon lost in the mass. Suddenly, he heard a scream that he recognized, chilling his heart.

"Peter!"

The FBI agent quickly turned around at the anxious sound of his name, watching as his wife pushed her way through the rest of the guests that were being shepherded to the elevators and escalators by the remaining agents, horrified to see that tears were falling from her eyes. "Susanna, what's wrong?" Sadusky asked anxiously, pulling her close to him.

"Some man took Jacob!" Susanna answered tearfully, pointing toward the staircase leading down to the main floor. "He said something about the side alley…"

Sadusky swore quietly but tried to comfort his panicked wife as best as he could. Then, he noticed that someone else was missing. "Where's Matt?"

Susanna inhaled shakily. "He went after them."

"All right. Stay here," Sadusky muttered, hiding the panic that had begun to bloom inside of him. Then, he noticed that Agent Hendricks was standing nearby, guiding people toward the exits but also had his gun out. He looked confused about which man he should be aiming at, Ian or Artem. "Agent Hendricks!"

Hearing his name, he quickly rushed over to them. "Yes, Sir?" Hendricks asked once he approached.

"Stay with her," Sadusky told him quietly, gently pushing Susanna over to him.

Hendricks nodded as he pulled the woman close to him, putting one arm around her shaking frame. "Sir, who should we arrest?" he muttered, gesturing to both the English and Russian man.

Sadusky rolled his eyes. "Both." Then, he rushed into the crowd of people to go after his sons, leaving Hendricks behind trying to comfort his wife.

Ben turned to Riley, who was nervously looking at the two men with weapons near them. "Get Abigail and Clara out of here," he whispered before quickly going after the agent. Riley watched his best friend leave, and then sighed as he disappeared into the crowd himself to find his niece and her mother.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ivan quickly cut out of a side exit once he was on the main floor, coming out into a side alley. Jacob struggled to try to stop, but the man pulled his arm forcefully to keep him moving. The eighth grader's eyes widened in fear when the gray-haired man pulled out a gun.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Matthew Sadusky ran down a flight of stairs, jumping over the railing to hurry his pace. At that moment, he didn't even care that he didn't have a weapon, though the man who had taken his brother most likely did.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Agent Sadusky ran down the same flight of stairs that his oldest son had only a few minutes before, talking anxiously into his walkie-talkie to call other agents to meet him outside as he pulled out his gun.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben sighed in irritation when the escalator he got on was packed with people trying to escape. Anxious to get to wherever Jacob was taken, he began to push his way through the crowd on the downward escalator. Once he reached the second floor, he decided to take the stairs to get to the main level instead.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Abigail held on to her daughter's hand tightly, searching for people she knew in the mass of people heading for the exits. "Ben!" she shouted anxiously. "Riley!"

"Daddy! Uncle Riley!" Clara added.

Then, Abigail gasped when she saw three more people drop through the ceiling, recognizing them to be Ian's cohorts- Powell, Nick, and Dustin. "Time to run," she muttered, beginning to pull Clara along with her through the crowd.

Clara looked behind her, watching as the man with a heavy Russian accent was joined by two blond-haired men as they began to take some of the jewels in the display and as the man with the English accent was joined by a man with blond hair and a man with curly black hair as they also began to steal some of the display.

"Daddy! Uncle Riley!"

"I'm here, Clara!"

The eight-year-old smiled when Riley suddenly came up behind them and picked her up into one arm, grabbing Abigail's hand and pulling her along behind him as he ran toward the security exit that he, Ben, and Abigail had used to break into the museum years before. "Where's Daddy?" Clara asked.

"He'll join us shortly," Riley answered anxiously, inwardly sighing with relief when he saw that they were almost to the exit.

Then, they stopped running when someone stepped in front of them, holding a gun. Riley's eyes narrowed angrily as he held Clara closer to him and moved in front of Abigail. It was Dustin.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ivan stopped running when he was sure that they were safely away from the agents, keeping a firm hold on Jacob's arm. "Your father will hopefully be here soon, boy," he told the eighth grader, his voice thick with a Russian accent.

Jacob looked up at him, a thin line of pained and fearful tears forming in his eyes as he wondered what the man would do with him. Then, he looked to the mouth of the alley when he heard hurried footsteps, and relief came over him when he saw a face he knew. "Matt!" he shouted.

"_Derr'mo_!" Ivan swore quietly, raising his gun at the approaching figure. Then, the weapon was fired.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Matthew gasped when he saw his younger brother and the man that had taken him, the gun in his hand aimed in his direction. He ducked against the wall just as it was fired, the bullet barely missing him.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian snatched a bracelet away from the display and handed it to Nick to give to Powell to put in the bag they had brought along with them. Then, he reached for the scepter just as Artem did, both men grabbing it at the same time.

"_Isvi'nite_. Excuse me," the Russian man said, trying to pull it out of the other's grasp.

"I don't think so," Ian muttered, pulling it back in his direction.

Artem smirked at him. "Pity you think that." Then, he raised his gun and hit Ian forcefully in the side of the head with it, knocking him to the floor.

Nick and Powell rushed forward to the fallen man as he pushed himself up on his arms, all glaring at the Russian man as he twirled the scepter.

"Oh, _prost'tite_. Sorry," Artem said tauntingly with another smirk, gesturing for the two blond-haired men behind him to leave. "My hand slipped." He raised the scepter. "_Spa'sibo_. Thank you." Then, like the men who had been with him, he vanished into the crowd.

"Ian, are you all right?" Nick asked anxiously, able to see the shadows of a bruise beginning to form.

But Ian pushed his hand away irritably. "Don't worry about me. Go after him!" he replied, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head.

"I'm on it," Powell muttered, giving Nick the bag with some of the jeweled items in it before rushing after Artem.

Ian watched him leave and pushed himself into a sitting position with Nick supporting him, but he froze when the gun of Agent Hendricks appeared in his face.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Agent Sadusky froze when he heard the gunshot echoing loudly from the side alley. His hand tightened around his gun as the worst thought that one of his sons had been shot entered his mind, but he struggled to push it out as he prepared to enter the alley.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben stepped outside just as the gun went off, nearly running into Sadusky. The agent quickly turned around when the treasure hunter placed his hand on his shoulder, but he relaxed when he saw who it was. "Oh, it's just you, Ben…"

"Come on, Sadusky. Get it together," Ben told him encouragingly. "Jacob and Matt need you now."

Sadusky looked at Ben for a moment and then took a deep breath as he nodded. "Thank you, Ben."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Hello, Riley," Dustin muttered. "Long time no see."

Riley glared back at him as he set his niece down behind him, making sure that she was safe with Abigail before facing his older brother. "So, what did Ian do to get you out of trouble this time?" he wondered sarcastically.

Dustin's eyes flickered angrily, raising his gun to Riley's forehead as Abigail screamed and covered Clara's eyes. "Same as always, are we?" he said. "You never were able to keep your big mouth shut."

"What are you going to do? Shoot me?" Riley replied with a laugh, though he was slightly nervous. "Even you aren't _that_ stupid, Dustin. There are too many people here to witness it. You wouldn't even have the courage to do it anyway."

"Don't tempt me…" The older Poole's finger rested dangerously over the trigger, but then he removed it. He was then stopped from doing any further action by his cell phone ringing. Seeing that it was Ian, he flipped it open and brought it to his ear. "Hello?" Dustin listened for a minute, his eyes scanning the crowd of people as he looked for the man he was talking to. "All right. Meet you there. Bye." He closed the cell phone and ended the call, putting it back in his pocket as he turned his attention to Riley.

"You're lucky _this_ time, little brother," Dustin muttered, lowering the gun and putting it on his belt. "But remember, there's always next time." Then, he disappeared out of the security exit that Riley, Abigail, and Clara had planned on leaving through.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"What are you going to do now?" Ian asked with a smirk while the agent spoke into his walkie-talkie, putting his cell phone away after the call he had made to Dustin.

Hendricks took a deep breath, his gun still aimed at the English man. But then, he lowered it with a sigh. "You're lucky this time, Howe," he muttered, moving back to a shaking Susanna. "Your husband wants us to wait outside of the main entrance. Come on."

As she was being led toward the exit, Susanna looked behind her and met Ian's gaze, and she was surprised to see that there was something that was close to worry in his eyes for only a split second before they hardened again. Then, he disappeared from view.

"What's on your mind?" Nick wondered as his stepbrother turned to him.

Ian sighed, wincing slightly as he gently touched the spot on his head where the bruise was most likely going to appear and remain for about a week or so. "We have to find Powell."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Sadusky and Ben entered the alley, seeing that Matthew was crouched against the wall and an older man with one blind eye was holding on to Jacob and aiming a gun in the college boy's direction. When he saw the FBI agent, however, he lowered the weapon.

"Dad!" Jacob cried urgently.

"Matt, stay with Ben," Sadusky muttered, pushing his older son back toward the treasure hunter before cautiously approaching the Russian man with his own gun out. "Give me my son."

"I would if I could, agent," Ivan replied with a smirk. "However, now is not the right time."

Irritated, Sadusky began to raise his gun, but was stopped when Ivan put his weapon to Jacob's head. Panicked, the head of the FBI lowered his gun, not knowing how he could get Jacob away from the Russian man.

Then, there was a beeping noise that came from Ivan's belt. He reached down and took out a walkie-talkie and pressed a button to answer. "_Da_? Yes?" He listened for a minute as a long stream of Russian came from the device, and then he nodded, said a quick "all right", and put it back on his belt.

"_Spa'sibo_. Thank you," Ivan said, shoving Jacob over to the FBI agent. "Your son gets to live."

Sadusky caught his younger son and held him close to him, watching as Ivan ran out of the other end of the alley and disappeared into the night.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Powell ran out of the museum after Artem and the two blond-haired men, pulling out his gun. He had been given an order, and he was going to make sure it was followed.

He watched as one of the men with Artem climbed into the driver's seat of a white car, the other blond man getting in the back seat while the leader reached for the handle of the passenger door. Powell then took careful aim at the man and fired the gun.

Artem screamed in pain as the bullet sunk into his skin just above the ankle, nearly falling to the pavement. "_Derr'mo_!" he cursed heatedly, scrambling into the car as he turned around and fired a feeble shot back. Powell ducked out of the way of the shot and covered his head protectively, but the sound of squealing tires told him that he was too late to stop the Russians. He lowered his arms, watching the white car stop as it picked up a man with long gray hair from an alley before it sped away from the museum and out of sight.

Then, he turned around when a black SUV came up behind him, seeing that Nick was in the driver's seat with Ian next to him. After Powell climbed into the backseat beside Dustin, the younger man sped away as well, escaping from the museum and the police that were after them.

**A/N**: Just so you all know, "Derr'mo" is the "S" word in English. Just a little fun fact. And I think this should be the last chapter where I do this much skipping around in one chapter. Now just because I say that another one will come up later, watch… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter more than I did! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movies is mine, though I wish I owned them!

**A/N**: Okay, the ACT test officially sucks. Lol! I just got done taking it, and I need to take some time to relax before I get started on my major homework. So, I thought I would update! You know what also sucks? Rain. And cold. Did I mention rain? Winter is finally leaving, but now it's all rain. Yeah. Completely sucks… Okay, enough of my rambling! Thank you sooooooo much to **Rose of Hope**, **daisyduke80**, **bicmacsparkey**, **Charlotte Lewis**, **Maira Blue**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Halo**, **AliuIce0814**, and **broadwaylover07** for your fantastic reviews (I think this is the first time I haven't used the word "wonderful"…)! But anyway, here's the next chapter! Thanks again!

Chapter 5

Ben sighed heavily, sitting down on one of the stone steps that led up to the museum. He had given Riley his car keys to drive Abigail and Clara home, but he would be returning afterward. The treasure hunter ran his hand stressfully through his hair. After eight years, Ian had returned, and just like the last time they had seen him, he had escaped. Not only that, but now there was Artem and three other dangerous men who could pose a possible threat to the people he cared about. Though he didn't know much about the Russian man except for what he could gather from the brief moment he had met him, Ben could tell by his deep green orbs that Artem was a man who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted.

The treasure hunter then looked over his shoulder when he heard the door of the museum open and close, and he nodded when he saw that it was Sadusky. "You all right, Ben?" the FBI agent asked, sitting down on the step beside him.

"Yeah. Just thinking about some things," Ben answered quietly. "How about you? How are Susanna, Matt, and Jacob?"

"They're all right," Sadusky told him. "All shaken up of course, but they weren't hurt. Susanna's getting the boys some ice cream. How about your family?"

Ben nodded. "They're fine, even though they were slightly alarmed that they encountered Dustin earlier," he muttered. "Riley's going to come back after he drops off Abigail and Clara at home."

Sadusky looked at the treasure hunter for a long minute, and then shook his head. "Don't worry about Ian, Ben. We'll catch him. There are police and agents searching the entire city."

But Ben gave a hollow laugh to the agent's comment. "It sounds strange to say, but I'm not as worried about Ian as I am about Artem," he replied softly.

"We'll catch him too," Sadusky told him firmly, traces of anger in his voice since one of Artem's cohorts had kidnapped his son. "You can count on that."

Ben was about to reply, but he stopped when he saw his car pull up in front of them and Riley climb out before hurrying to his two friends. "Hey, Riley. Are Abigail and Clara okay?"

"Oh, yeah. They're fine," Riley answered. "Clara fell asleep on the couch waiting for her Daddy to come home, and Abigail is sitting awake for you with a cup of coffee."

"Sounds like them," Ben muttered, no longer worried.

Riley nodded in agreement, but then he turned to the FBI agent. "I've been thinking about what happened with Jacob tonight, Sadusky, and I've got a theory," he told him.

Sadusky's eyes lit up. "Which is?"

"Well, I'm no expert with this whole FBI agent thing, but that didn't seem like a typical hostage situation to me," Riley explained, sitting down on the step beside Sadusky. "That man didn't demand any money for Jacob's safe return and it wasn't too difficult to get him back. What I'm thinking is that Artem really had no intention of keeping Jacob. He just needed something to lure _you_ away while the _real_ goal was accomplished."

"A diversion," Ben said. Riley nodded in confirmation.

"That makes sense, but what were they after?" Sadusky asked.

"Moving on to the next part of my theory, the jeweled set of course," Riley answered. "Ian was after them also, but I have a feeling that it was for two very different reasons."

"And to know that reason," Ben caught on, "we'll have to know more about Artem."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben and Riley left the museum as soon as they were sure that too much damage hadn't been done to the building or displays and that there hadn't been any serious injuries. The treasure hunter drove to the younger man's apartment, and both friends went inside to look up information on the Russian man.

"Do you think that you can hack into birth records or something like that to find him?" Ben asked, standing in the hall while his best friend searched for his keys in his tuxedo pockets.

"Yeah, probably. Just don't say it too loudly because my elderly neighbor Eleanor doesn't approve of my… talents," Riley answered in a quieter voice, pushing open his door once he unlocked it. "She makes the best cookies, though."

Ben laughed to himself, shutting and locking the door behind him once he entered the apartment. Riley ignored it and took off his tuxedo jacket and threw it on the couch after stepping out of his tight shoes, unbuttoning the buttons around his wrists and the first couple beneath his chin after getting rid of the tie. He shrugged when he saw that the treasure hunter was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, muttered something about having to be comfortable, and then he disappeared into his room to get the laptop.

The older man looked back around at the semi-messy living room as he sat down on the couch beside Riley's discarded tuxedo jacket. The techie appeared a minute later with the portable computer, sitting down on the jacket next to Ben and opening the laptop. Riley put on his glasses while the Internet loaded, and then he looked at his best friend. "I can probably find this guy through criminal records the easiest since there are most likely many people with the name _Artem_ in Russia," he muttered, beginning to type in some data on the computer. He was silent for a few tense minutes as he shifted through many screens, and Ben waited anxiously to see if his searching would pay off.

Then, Riley grinned triumphantly as he turned the screen toward the other man. "This is our guy, right? You saw him more than I did."

"That's him all right," Ben muttered, recognizing the deep green eyes and the coldness that came along with them immediately. "That was fast, Riley. Have you ever found anyone like this before?"

Riley hesitated. "Once," he finally muttered, but then he brushed the feeling aside. "But anyway, let's find out about our new friend, shall we? His full name is Artem… something Russian I can't pronounce. He has been arrested a total of six times, mostly on charges of armed robbery, kidnapping, arson, trespassing… kinda reminds me of Ian. Whoa. I don't think our favorite English criminal has actually ever killed someone, though… But moving on, he was last released from prison a year ago due to a guy named Ivan… something else Russian I can't pronounce."

"That was the man who took Jacob tonight," Ben muttered, recognizing the name.

"Okay, that would make sense," Riley agreed. "But the strange thing here is that it says Artem was cleared of all charges. _All_ charges."

All charges? That really was strange… "Cleared of all charges?" Ben repeated, making sure that he was hearing his best friend correctly.

Riley nodded. "Yep. Oh, and look at this. He has two illegitimate children who have been taken out of his custody and put into a foster home." The techie continued to look down the page. "And here's his medical records. Let's see… Oh, get a load of this. At age eight, he was diagnosed with delirium, and he was then diagnosed with schizophrenia at age seventeen. He was never able to finish school because of his mental illness, but he was enrolled in the army for a year before being honorably discharged, which was when the illness was discovered by his commanders."

Sighing with defeat, the younger man looked at the treasure hunter. "I'm not seeing anything that could be a reason for Artem wanting to steal the Romanov jewels, even with the illness. There was definitely something behind this robbery- it wasn't just some random crime. At least, I don't think it was…"

Ben looked at the screen thoughtfully. "There has to be something… What about his childhood?" he asked. "Could there be anything there that could link the two?"

"His childhood? I hadn't thought about that… Hold on a sec…"

Riley scrolled through the page some more, finally stopping when he found something of interest. "Ah, here we go. This looks like a typical biography of a good kid gone bad. His father was abusive, so his parents went through a rough divorce when he was six. His mother then became an alcoholic, and he was taken to a foster home for a while until his uncle from Siberia came and got him. This here is interesting. His uncle was a historian who studied many artifacts at his home, which is what got Artem interested in history. His favorite topic was the Romanov family, especially the myths surrounding the youngest daughter and a holy man who was an acquaintance of Alexandra. He used to claim that he was descended from this holy man, which was the first sign of his delirium and schizophrenia."

When he was done reading, Riley looked back at Ben. "I would say that's our golden ticket."

"That may be, but that still doesn't explain why Artem wants the Romanov family jewels so bad, even though it said that he was interested in them," Ben muttered.

"Well, we'll probably never know the exact reason unless we see Artem again, which may I say is highly unlikely," Riley replied with a shrug. "He's probably on the way to Russia right now…"

Ben sighed. "At least we got somewhere. Thanks, Riley," he commented. "I think I'll head home now. I don't want Abigail to stay up too late."

"All right. See ya'."

The treasure hunter stood up and left the apartment, pulling his tuxedo jacket closer to himself to keep warm. But before he went down the stairs, he noticed that the door across from Riley's was open a crack, and a pair of light blue eyes that he was sure belonged to the elderly Eleanor were watching him suspiciously.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"All right. _Po-ka_. Bye," Artem said into his cell phone. Then, he closed it and ended the call.

"Did you get a hold of her?" the blond-haired man behind the wheel asked.

Artem nodded. "_Da_. Yes, Dimitri. My cousin is finally starting to be useful, though she has no idea what we plan on doing. But she still got me what I needed."

"What you need is a hospital," Sacha, the younger brother of Dimitri, muttered from the backseat. "That bullet wound should be treated…"

"_Zatk'nis!_ Shut up!" Artem exclaimed, turning around in his seat to glare at the younger man behind him. "I do not trust hospitals here, and I can get the treatment I need back home in Russia. But first…" He looked down at his cell phone, his deep green eyes running over the number on his cell phone that his cousin had given to him.

"Artem, I have some bad news, Ivan said from beside Sacha, holding up a bag of crushed jewels that had once been a beautiful part of the Romanov display. "There is nothing in them. These do not contain what we are searching for."

The leader of them swore heatedly under his breath. "That English man must have the jewel that we need," he muttered with frustration. "If only there was a way to-!" Artem suddenly stopped in mid-sentence when he looked at the number on his phone again. "Wait. That man knew Benjamin Gates. This may work to our advantage after all."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian stared out the window at the night as Nick drove down the street, anxious to get to the hideout they had planned before the break-in at the museum and get some aspirin for his throbbing head. It hadn't really gotten to him before, but now that he wasn't occupied and was alone with his thoughts, it was almost as though it was hurting him more. And all of his mental energy was focused on the anger he was feeling toward Artem.

"You all right, Ian?" Powell asked from the backseat.

"Fine," Ian answered in a muttered. "I'm just thinking about what kind of revenge I would like to have on that Russian man. Nice shooting though, Powell. Very admirable…"

"Don't tell me that you're getting a different plan than ours, Ian," Dustin smirked from beside Powell.

Ian sighed with irritation and turned to look at him. "Don't talk to me about different agendas, Dustin!" he snapped angrily. "What were you thinking back there, going after your brother instead of helping us to get the jewels? You can't let you hatred of Riley get the best of you! You could have screwed something up!"

Dustin glared at him, but he didn't say anything. "We did get something, though," Powell finally muttered to break the stressed silence, holding up the bag. "I'm sure it's worth quite a lot."

"That is true," Ian muttered, a small smile forming on his face. "The question now is, how do we spend it?"

xxxxxxxxxx

Ben quietly stepped into the living room after locking the front door, seeing that Clara really was asleep on the couch, appearing to be uncomfortable without her favorite stuffed white tiger that she always slept with. With a small smile, the treasure hunter carefully picked up the eight-year-old and began to walk up the stairs with her to her room.

"Daddy," Clara muttered in her sleep, resting her blonde head against his chest as she snuggled against him.

Bewildered about how she knew it was him, Ben put her in bed and gave her the soft tiger that she loved so much. Now that she had it, Clara seemed to be sleeping much better. He then went into his own room, smiling when he saw that Abigail had fallen asleep in bed with a book in her limp hands and the reading light on the table beside her still on. A half-filled mug of probably now-cold coffee sat on the table also. Ben silently went over to his wife and gently took the book from her, his action causing her to shift to another position in her sleep. Relieved that she hadn't waken, the treasure hunter began to take off his tuxedo jacket, anxious to get into his pajamas.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. Ben quickly took it out of his pocket, but he hesitated when he saw that it was an unknown number. Then, he watched as Abigail's eyes slowly opened due to the noise, and not wanting to disturb her further, he answered the call. "Hello?" he asked as quietly as he could.

"_Zd'rravstvuite_. Hello, Benjamin Gates."

Ben froze. Though he had only heard it for a short time, he would recognize that Russian accent anywhere.

It was Artem.

**A/N**: I thought it was time for another cliffie! Lol! I'm actually pretty pleased with this chapter since we are finally getting somewhere. But, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I disclaim everything from the movies, and Aerosmith. They are also not mine (tear).

**A/N**: Hey, sorry for the long wait, everybody! I have been literally swamped the past week with homework, and I haven't been able to work on this chapter at all. But, I was finally able to, so here we are! Thank you so much to **broadwaylover07**, **fantomfairy**, **daisyduke80**, **Charlotte Lewis**, **Rose of Hope**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Miss Fenway**, **Halo**, and **momiji'sunusedhalo** for your awesome reviews! I appreciate them all! So, since I know you're all ready to kill me if I don't update, I won't keep you waiting any longer, and I'll give you the next chapter!

Chapter 6

"How did you get this number, Artem?" Ben muttered fearfully, struggling to keep his voice under control. Abigail slowly sat up in bed when she heard the anxious tone of his voice.

"You may want to learn better manners, Mr. Gates," Artem taunted him. "But it is amazing what one with proper knowledge can do with computers these days."

Ben was instantly reminded of Riley. If Artem knew someone who could hack into computer databases as well as his best friend could, there would be problems. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice finally faltering slightly.

Artem laughed on the other end. "I was hoping that you would ask," he answered. "You know that English man who was stealing some of the jewels at the museum tonight?"

"Yes."

"Good. I want you to contact him and get them back," Artem stated.

Ben's brow furrowed with confusion. He would _never_ contact Ian… never. "Why would I listen to you?" he countered.

"Because if you don't, the world you know will end and the people you love will die," Artem told him, his voice laced with iciness. "Must I mention your father, Patrick? Your mother, Emily? Your wife, Abigail? Your daughter, Clara? Your friend, Riley Poole?"

"How do you know about them?" Ben asked anxiously in alarm. "What do you mean?"

"You have twenty-four hours to get me those jewels," Artem told him firmly. "I will call you when your time is up, at which point I will tell you what to do next. It requires helping me to find something in a certain amount of time if what I want is not among what you give me. If this item is not found in the time I allow, I will also unleash the disease. If you do not have them by then or you refuse to cooperate with me, I will infect one person with a bacterial disease containing a toxin so deadly that it kills within a couple of hours. Everyone they come in contact with will also be infected. Until then, _dosvi'daniya. _Goodbye."

"No! Wait!" the treasure hunter shouted, but he was too late. Ben slowly closed his cell phone, his face pale as he weakly sat down on the bed. He barely felt Abigail's warm, comforting hand on his shoulder, barely heard her gently ask him what was wrong. His thoughts were only on Artem and what he had told him. A disease with a poison so deadly that it killed the person infected in only a couple of hours. Was that even possible? He would have to call Riley to ask him to look into this disease before he even thought about contacting Ian, just to make sure. But something was telling him by the way Artem's voice had sounded that he hadn't been making it up…

"Ben, what's wrong?" Abigail asked again nervously as she held his hand tightly in hers. "You're scaring me, honey…"

The treasure hunter slowly looked at his wife and was about to answer her, but he was stopped by a loud scream that came from the room beside theirs.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Clara quickly sat up in bed, the sound of her uncle's pained scream echoing in her mind as her own cry escaped from her. She hardly even noticed as her father rushed into the room and picked her up into his arms, her mother standing pale in the doorway as she turned on the light.

"I'm here, Clara," Ben muttered encouragingly, holding her close to him. "What did you see?"

The eight-year-old laid her head on Ben's shoulder, a tear falling from her eyes. "Nothing," she whispered.

Ben sighed quietly, sitting down on his daughter's bed and situating Clara on his lap as Abigail cautiously moved into the room and sat beside them. "If you tell us what your nightmare was about, you'll feel better," the treasure hunter told her while his wife nodded in agreement.

"Well, it began with me being chased by a group of polar bears…" Clara began.

Ben raised his eyebrow, showing that he didn't believe what she was telling him. Seeing that her lie wasn't working, Clara took a deep, shuddering breath. "Well… there were two men," she hesitantly explained in a quiet voice. "They were both at the museum tonight. One had gray hair and a blind eye, and the other had black hair and deep green eyes."

Ivan and Artem. Ben gently pushed some of his daughter's blonde hair out of her face, silently urging her to go on.

"I don't know where we were, but I was hiding in the banisters of the ceiling looking down into a room," Clara continued. "Those two men were there, and they had Uncle Riley tied to a chair. They were mean to him, Daddy, hitting and kicking him. But they were talking about you and how you had to give them something. If you didn't, they would kill him. And they did! It was awful, Daddy…"

Ben held the now-sobbing Clara tightly while Abigail ran her hand through their daughter's hair. Though he doubted that Artem would hunt down Riley and kill him, he couldn't help but think how eerily similar the eight-year-old's dream was to the treat that the Russian man had made. He pushed the dark thought aside when he saw that Clara was looking up at him pleadingly through her tear-filled eyes.

"Call Uncle Riley, Daddy!" she begged desperately. "Please see if he's okay!"

"I'm sure he's fine, Clara," Abigail muttered, kissing her head. "It's really late, and I'm not sure if we should-!"

"No, it's all right, Abigail," Ben interrupted, silently trying to tell her that he was planning on calling the techie anyway. "I'll give him a call. And since tomorrow is Saturday, it might be fun if Clara had a sleepover at Uncle Riley's tomorrow night. Would you like that?"

Clara's face lit up when she heard the words "sleepover" and "Uncle Riley" in the same sentence, and she nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Thanks, Daddy!"

Abigail looked at her husband with suspicion. Ben never suggested the sleepovers at Riley's apartment, it was always either her or Riley. That combined with the fear he felt after the mysterious phone call he had gotten led her to believe that something was going on… and it was going to happen the next night.

"All right then. I'll call your uncle and arrange the sleepover," Ben said, laying his daughter back on her pillow and covering her up with the blanket. "Good night, Clara."

"Good night, Daddy," Clara replied, smiling when she got a kiss on the cheek from him before he left the room. "Good night, Mommy."

Abigail kissed Clara as well as she told her good night. Then, after turning off the light in her daughter's room, she quickly went downstairs to the kitchen, following her instinct that whatever her husband had to say to Riley was something that he didn't want to be overheard by their eight-year-old daughter.

Sure enough. Ben was sitting at the kitchen table with the phone to his ear. He looked startled that Abigail was standing against the wall and watching him, but his attention was suddenly switched to the phone when his best friend answered.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley looked away from the computer screen when he heard the _Batman_ movie song form the desk next to him, and he reached over and picked up his ringing cell phone. Seeing that it was the Gates' home number and knowing that it was most likely Ben, he flipped the phone open and brought it to his ear. "Yeah?"

"Oh, wow. You're actually still awake," Ben muttered.

"Yeah, I'm just looking more into our newfound Russian friend," Riley explained. "What's up?"

"He called me."

Riley was caught off guard by the response. "Who? Artem?" he asked. "What did he want?"

"I was wondering if Clara could spend the night at your apartment tomorrow," Ben suddenly said.

For a minute, Riley thought that the older man had gone crazy. One minute he was talking about Artem, and the next minute, Ben was asking about a sleepover. But then, he understood. "Abi's in the room, isn't she?"

"Yep."

"Gotcha'," Riley muttered. "But yeah, Clara can sleep over. I've got nothing going on tomorrow…"

"Great, I'll tell Abigail," Ben replied. He looked over his shoulder at his wife. "Tell Clara that she can sleep over at Riley's tomorrow night."

Abigail sighed as she uncrossed her arms and left the kitchen. She knew that Ben was trying to get rid of her, but she also knew that she wasn't going to learn anything even if she stood in the room with him. She wanted to know what was happening, and she resolved that she would make her husband tell her what was going on once he was done talking to the younger man.

Once he was sure that his wife was gone, Ben turned his attention back to the phone. "All right, I'm back."

"Great. Now, what did Artem want?" Riley asked. "How did you get your number anyway?"

"Same way you would," Ben answered grimly. "I think he has someone with him that knows all about that too."

Any normal person would assume that the treasure hunter was talking about the phonebook, but Riley understood the direness of the comment that his best friend had made. "Well, judging by his profile, Artem doesn't strike me as the guy who knows a whole lot about computers," the techie commented. "He's more into that Russian history thing. You're right in thinking that there's someone else who's good with that. But anyway, what did he want when he called you?"

Ben sighed. "He wanted me to call Ian and tell him to give the jewels he stole back to him," he explained. "If I didn't, he would…"

"Would what?" Riley asked. The treasure hunter could sense his anxiousness over the phone.

"He said that he would unleash a bacterial disease containing a toxin so deadly that it kills within a couple of hours," Ben answered. "He plans on infecting the world with it beginning with one person. He's going to call me back in twenty-four hours, which is why I want Clara to be with you."

"A couple of hours? Is that even possible?" Riley wondered, horrified.

"That's what I was hoping you could find out for me," Ben replied hollowly.

Riley cleared his throat nervously. "Well, I'll see what I can find. Hold on."

Ben waited for what felt like forever, the sound of his best friend furiously tying away on his laptop the only thing he heard beside his rapidly beating heart. Finally, the younger man sighed.

"Here's your answer, Ben. I say you call Ian… and fast."

"Why?" Ben asked softly, his heart sinking. "What did you find?"

"Though it doesn't say anything about an actual disease outbreak, it says here that there _is_ a poison like you described which can be transmitted through people or liquid that can be made with a certain combination of chemicals that are primarily found in _Russia_," Riley answered, reading off of the screen. "There has been one known case of it before, but it was contained during the Romanov era. Pretty ironic, huh?"

"Yeah. My guess is that Artem believes he can control it. Otherwise, he wouldn't threaten with it," Ben muttered. "Is there a cure?"

"Um, it says there is, but it's never been found," Riley told him.

Ben sighed with defeat. "I guess I had better call Ian then."

Riley laughed a little. "Yeah, but don't worry," he said as cheerfully as he could. "I'll be thinking about you."

"Thanks, Riley."

"No problem, and good luck," Riley replied. "Let me know how it goes."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Ben hung up the phone with a heavy heart, knowing that he was being forced to do something that he really did not want to do. But if what Riley had told him as correct, there truly was a poison out there that could do what Artem had threatened, and he didn't want to take the chance in case the Russian man really did have it in his possession. There were too many people that he cared about now, not to mention the countless number of innocents that would be affected. He would have to call Ian.

After taking many deep breaths and counting to ten in his head at least three times, the treasure hunter took out his cell phone and hesitantly dialed the numbers that made up Ian's cell, his heart quickening as it rang once. Twice. Three times. Ben's hopes rose. Maybe he wouldn't answer and he could just leave a message on Ian's phone and tell him to call back later.

But in the middle of the fourth ring, an unmistakable English accent answered the phone. "Hello?"

"It's Ben," Ben said simply, hiding his sigh.

There was a second of shocked silence on the other end of the line before it was replaced by the English man's laugh. "Wow, Ben. I must say that this is a surprise," Ian replied. "What, may I ask, are you calling for?"

Ben took a deep breath. Here was the part he _really_ wasn't going to like. "Ian, we need your help," he muttered quietly.

"_My_ help?" Ian asked in a sneering way, though he was caught off guard. "What makes you think that I will give it?"

The treasure hunter had expected this response. "Ian, please," Ben answered desperately. "I need you to give me the jewels you stole from the museum tonight."

"The jewels? No way," Ian sneered. "You come crawling to me for help, Ben. How do I know that this isn't a setup? You could be giving those jewels right back to the FBI. And what makes you think that I would help you? You landed me in jail before."

The English man felt pretty comfortable with his argument as he smirked at the unseen Ben, but he was not expecting what he head next.

"Ian, if you don't cooperate and we don't find whatever this guy wants in time, everyone will die!"

Ian's smirk vanished from his face as his confidence completely left him as he slowly turned around and looked at Nick, who was sitting in a chair behind him and reading. As his younger stepbrother turned and looked back at him, the older man's face reflected the torn feeling in his heart.

_Everyone will die!_

"What do you mean?" Ian finally said, his voice lowered so Nick couldn't hear him as well. "What man are you talking about?"

"His name is Artem, and he's that Russian man who was at the museum tonight stealing jewels," Ben explained, relieved that Ian was actually listening to him now. "He told me that there was this incredibly deadly disease that will be unleashed if we don't cooperate with him. Please, I need you to do this for me."

Ian's eyes narrowed angrily. Artem? That was worse than the FBI. He gently touched the side of his head where the man's gun had hit him, and he winced slightly. "Do you have any proof of this?"

"I had Riley look it up, and he told me that it was extremely possible,' Ben told him. "He found the poison that the disease contained, so I'm sure it's a safe bet that it's out here. I trust him."

"Show me proof that this disease actually exists and that it is in that man's hands, or you will not get your jewels," Ian declared firmly. "That is my final word." Then, he flipped his cell phone closed, cutting short the other man's protests.

Nick watched his older stepbrother carefully, his eyes following him as he anxiously paced along the wall a couple of times before storming from the room. Then, making up his mind on what he should do, the younger man stood up and quickly followed Ian out of the room.

Sitting at his kitchen table at his home, Ben sighed heavily as he put his head into his hands, ignoring Abigail as she approached him and put her hands around him from behind while laying her head on his back. Tears fell from her eyes since she had heard his side of the conversation with the English man. Ben felt a wave of hopelessness come over him, knowing that there was no way that Ian would agree to cooperate with him now.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"_You know it's true,_

_All the things you do come back to you."_

Riley sighed with exhaustion, closing his laptop but allowing his Aerosmith CD to continue to play softly. He had been continuing to research the disease that Ben had mentioned, seeing how deadly and painful it actually was. The toxin was like liquid fire, and if a person were to be infected with it, they would feel immediate pain from it beginning to spread. Once it circulated through the person's bloodstream, it would attack their vital organs, the last one being the heart. It also caused internal bleeding and the body temperature to go up until the person's body could no longer handle all of the pressure and it just shut down, which normally only took a couple hours. It was a horrible way to die. The techie wouldn't wish that on anyone, even his most hated enemies.

He had also found out more about the cure, like it only worked after the first ten minutes after exposure, which was the amount of time it took for the poison to reach the organs. After that, it was too late. Riley would have gone into the history of the disease, but he didn't really feel that it was important, and he also couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. It was time for him to get some rest, especially with his energetic niece spending the next night there.

But then, he was surprised when there was a soft knock on his apartment door. Riley wondered who in their right mind would be visiting him this late since it was after three in the morning, but he walked over and unlocked his door, gasping in horror when he saw a familiar, blond-haired man standing in the dim light of the hallway.

**A/N**: Hmm, this doesn't look too good does it? Artem is one crazy guy, I'll tell you that much! And who is this guy visiting Riley so late? You'll have to find out! I hope you enjoyed this update! It was a pretty long one for you too. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: No one from _National Treasure_ is mine. If they were, let's just say my life would be a lot more exciting since I would be off searching for treasure and not just writing about it. _Anastasia_ isn't mine either (the movie I mean, nor the person, but she isn't actually in this chapter).

**A/N**: Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I've had tons of homework since I have two AP classes and the final exams are coming up, so I've had no time to update. That combined with the stress of everyday teenage life has left me with no time to write either. Fortunately, today is Saturday, and I had time to write when I got up this morning. Thank you so much to **fantomfairy**, **Charlotte Lewis**, **broadwaylover07**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Majestik Moose**, **Miss Fenway**, **Maira Blue**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, and **Halo** for your awesome reviews! I love and appreciate them all very much. So, moving on from that cliffie I left you with, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 7

"Hey, Riley. Sorry for scaring you. I know it's really late…"

"You could have warned me before you came, Nick. Like calling, or something," Riley muttered, his heart beginning to return to its normal rate once he realized who it was since he had initially thought that it had been Ian. "Come on in."

Nick smiled slightly as he entered the apartment while Riley leaned out into the hallway and searched it for any more of Ian's men or even the English man himself. Not seeing anyone else, he shut the door and locked it.

"So, how are you doing now?" Riley asked as he walked into the kitchen while Nick sat down on the couch. "Last time I saw you, you were like half dead."

"I'm doing all right," Nick answered with a slight laugh, taking the glass of water the techie offered him as he sat down on the couch also. "Though I must admit constantly hiding away from the FBI isn't much fun. But other than that, I'm okay. How about you?"

"Pretty good," Riley told him with an indifferent shrug. "I admit I'm not doing much hiding away from the police. Just kinda' tired from staring at a computer screen for a long time learning everything I can about this deadly disease that Ben told me about. Other than that, not too much has been going on lately…"

Nick took a sip of the water that Riley had given him, looking at the younger man grimly over the rim of the glass. "That's actually what I've come to talk to you about," he muttered. "Ben called Ian a shot time ago and told him that he had to return the jewels or this man would unleash a disease or something like that. But Ian won't give him the jewels unless he has proof that this disease really exists. That's why I'm here. I need to find out if this is true or if it's just a set up."

Riley nodded, knowing that this statement was understandable. "Well, I didn't actually hear the conversation myself, but I do know that the guy who called Ben is really messed up to say the least," he explained as he stood up and grabbed his laptop. "I wouldn't put it past him if he thought that he could contain some mass disease. But here's what I found on a poison that fits the description of what he told Ben."

Nick watched as Riley pulled up the page that he had been looking at a few minutes before, and then he took the laptop when the techie handed it to him. The blond-haired man read over the symptoms of the disease, sighing heavily when he handed it back. "That's terrible," he muttered. "This guy is threatening to infect people with that?"

"That's what Ben told me," Riley replied, shutting the laptop. "He's my best friend, and he did sound very worried. I believe him."

"Hopefully I'll be able to convince Ian to cooperate," Nick commented, mainly to himself. "He's really stubborn. Why would someone even _think_ of messing with something so horrible?"

"You got me," Riley muttered in agreement. "Then again, Artem doesn't quite seem to fit the _up-to-par_ criteria."

Nick nodded with a slight laugh. "I would think not. Thanks for your help, Riley," he said as he finished his water. "I'll see if I can get Ian to listen to me now. Sorry again for the scare."

"No problem," Riley replied with a small smile of his own. "And good luck with Ian. You'll need it. Do you want me to print out that page for you or something so you can show him?"

"I know. Thanks," Nick laughed. "No, you don't have to print it. If this doesn't work, I don't know what will. See ya', Riley." Then he handed the glass to the techie and left the small apartment.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian sat in a chair, his eyes glued to the door of their hideout with his cell phone resting on his knee. He had been startled to discover that Nick had disappeared from his room, especially since it was getting to be later in the morning. His nerves rose as time drew nearer and nearer to sunrise.

But as he sat with his swirling thoughts, Ian remembered the first time that he had ever really spoken with Nick, which was on the day that the younger man's mother had married his father. He had been sixteen while Nick had been eight…

_Ian sighed heavily from the front pew of the church, his eyes on the man and woman standing in front of the altar. Normally he didn't mind weddings, but he just couldn't seem to be able to bring himself to be thrilled about this one. This was his father getting married to a woman from the States who he had been seeing for only five months. The teen remembered how he had felt what was almost resentment toward the man when he had found out about the wedding since his mother had died only about a year before, and now his father was binding himself to a woman who Ian had never really bothered to get to know. It was his way of rebelling in a sense, rebelling against his father. He pulled on the collar of his shirt beneath his tuxedo jacket that he had been forced to wear. It was the hottest point of the summer, much too hot to be wearing suits._

_But it got worse. His father just wasn't marrying any woman. This woman had an eight-year-old son while she had brought with her to England after she divorced her first husband. So not only was he getting a new mother that he never wanted, he was also getting a younger brother who was only going to be a hindrance. Ian had met the kid a few times, but he never spoke a word, yet he still seemed to have a kind of deep respect for the older boy. The English boy had seen his father make a lot of make a lot of mistakes in his sixteen years of existence, but his was definitely his worst. His gaze traveled to the young Nick, who was sitting on the pew across the aisle from him. How was he expected to live with a kid who wouldn't even speak his own name?_

_Then, as Ian turned back to face the front of the church, he saw Nick suddenly stand up out of the corner of his eye. He turned and watched the younger boy rush down the aisle and leave out of the back door. Wondering what he was up to, the sixteen-year-old got up and quickly went after him._

_Ian followed Nick's retreating footsteps all the way outside, watching as the eight-year-old, blond-haired boy sat down on the gently sloping grassy hill and tuck his knees under his arms. A minute later, his shoulders began to shake. The teen slowly began to walk forward, cautiously approaching Nick as he stopped behind the crying child._

"_You've got the right idea, kid. It's way too hot in that church."_

_Nick gasped and quickly whirled his head around when he heard the sudden voice. Ian felt a slight twinge of sympathy when he saw that tears were streaming from his eyes, but the feeling grew slightly when he watched the younger boy anxiously try to wipe them away at the sight of him._

"_May I sit?" Ian asked, gesturing to the ground beside him. When Nick slowly nodded in mute answer, the teen sat down on the grass as he attempted to loosen his tie without success. "What are you doing out here anyway?"_

"_I… I don't want this marriage to happen," Nick muttered hesitantly in hesitation as he made careful effort to not look at Ian. "I can't watch it."_

_Ian blinked in surprise. These were the first words that the kid had ever said to him. But he was feeling the same way, which was how he could connect with him. "Me neither, kid," he replied, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Nick was looking at him with surprise. "But no matter what, we'll get through it together." He wasn't sure what had made him say his last statement. There was just something about the small, blond-haired kid with big, blue eyes that made him feel almost protective of him._

_Nick continued to stare up at Ian with shock, but then a small smile appeared on his face as he scooted a little closer to him. Though this marriage wasn't something that he wanted his mother to do, he didn't think that it would be so bad now that he had an older brother figure that he could look up to and trust._

_Then, they both heard the ringing of church bells, and Ian met the younger boy's gaze. "Let's go back in, shall we?" They got to their feet after Nick nodded, and they ran back into the church together. Ian pushed open the doors of the sanctuary and Nick entered in after him, but they both froze when they saw that the wedding was just about to end._

"_You may now kiss the bride."_

_As the new couple shared their first marriage kiss and the congregation got to its feet and applauded, a small smile appeared on Ian's face as he placed his arm around Nick's shoulders. Both knew that though they hadn't initially wanted the wedding to happen, they both also knew that it wouldn't be so bad since they were together._

Ian blinked as he was brought out of his memory by the sound of the door to the hideout opening and closing, and he watched as Nick entered the small room. He saw the look of surprised fear on the younger man's face when he saw him waiting for him, and he was instantly reminded of the day of the wedding years ago when he had discovered his young stepbrother outside of the church.

"Where were you?"

"I'm sorry for not telling you I was leaving, Ian," Nick answered quickly as he cautiously approached the older man and knelt down on the floor beside the chair he was sitting in. "If I would have, you wouldn't have allowed me to go."

That was most likely true. It depended on where he wanted to go. "That may be, Nick, but you still haven't told me where you went to at this ungodly hour of the morning," Ian said.

Nick sighed. "I went to talk to Riley to see if Ben was telling the truth about that disease. Remember, I _did_ hear your end of the conversation," he explained. "I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't a set up that they were planning. Riley showed me some facts about the poison, and it's terrible. With that information and the little I could gather about the man who is threatening with it, I think it's legitimate. I believe him."

"Are you sure that it's not because you used to be Riley's friend?" Ian wondered though he doubted that was the reason. He just needed to make sure.

He was met with a determined nod. "Ian, as your brother, I need you to trust me," Nick muttered. "There could be something really dangerous out there."

Ian looked at Nick for a long moment, sighing as the battle over what to do raged furiously inside of him. The last thing he wanted to do was cooperate with Ben, but the last thing he wanted to see was Nick hurt…

Finally, he took out his cell phone and flipped it open, his eyes narrowing as he began to dial the treasure hunter's number.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben gasped and jumped when he heard something ringing from his pocket as he quickly looked around. He noticed that he was still in the kitchen and had fallen asleep at the table resting on his folded arms with a blanket draped over his shoulders that must have been placed there by Abigail. He saw that his wife had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room, and unlike him, she appeared to be peaceful in the first light of the morning sun.

Finally realizing that the ringing was coming from his cell phone, Ben frantically dug it out of his pocket. Seeing that it was Ian, he quickly flipped it open and brought it to his ear. "Hello?" he asked anxiously.

He had never been more relieved to hear the English accent on the other end. "All right, Gates. Tell me what to do."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley smiled slightly as he watched his niece actively watching her _Anastasia_ DVD. Abigail had dropped off Clara at his apartment shortly after one in the afternoon while Ben caught up on his sleep, and now it was about ten minutes to nine at night. It was a tradition for these sleepovers for them to have a contest to see who could stay up the latest, but the techie had the feeling that he was the one who was going to lose that night…

He also knew that this wasn't a normal sleepover. Riley inwardly sighed when he remembered how excited Clara had been about spending the night. But he knew that the _real _reason that Ben had arranged the sleepover was because of the phone call he had gotten from Artem. He wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen, but he knew his best friend well enough to know that it must have been dangerous if he didn't want Clara around that night. Riley vowed he would find out the next day what had happened.

But now, even though it wasn't even nine yet, he was exhausted. Promising that he wouldn't fall asleep but really had his fingers crossed, Riley laid down on the couch while his niece continued to watch the movie. As the animated girl on the screen began to sing something about dancing bears and painted wings, the techie felt his eyes begin to close.

Clara turned around to look at her uncle, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously when she saw that his eyes were closed. She hurried over to the couch and gently kissed him on the cheek, and when he didn't respond, she knew he was asleep.

"Ha. I beat you," she whispered triumphantly to the sleeping man. But then, the eight-year-old felt tired herself as she yawned. She climbed on the couch and snuggled up to Riley under his arm, closing her eyes as the song from the still-playing movie lulled her into sleep.

_Someone holds me safe and warm _

_Horses prance through a silver storm _

_Figures dancing gracefully _

_Across my memory… _

**A/N**: No cliffie this time, just fluff. I know it's not the most exciting, but the next one will be. Ben and Ian will confront Artem in the next chapter. I hope you liked it anyway! Thanks for reading. Your reviews are much appreciated! Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine

**Disclaimer**: Nope, not mine! Sorry I can't come up with an interesting one right now, there's a lot on my mind. But, hey. Who reads stories for the disclaimers anyway? But Avenged Sevenfold, the Anastasia movie, and Taco Bell are also not mine.

**A/N**: Surprise, surprise! Another update from yours truly! I didn't have any homework yesterday, and now I don't have any tonight, so I thought I would be nice and update since I got it written yesterday. I don't think any of you mind, though, do ya? Thank you to **broadwaylover07**, **Charlotte Lewis**, **Miss Fenway**, **fantomfairy**, **Maira Blue**, **SgtGroganSG**, **Rose of Hope**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, and **Halo** for your incredible reviews! I love them all! So, here we go to the next chapter, everyone!

**Note**: I'm warning you now that there is a seemingly incredibly random part toward the middle of this chapter, but there is a method to my madness. Enjoy anyway!

Chapter 8

_Far away, long ago_

_Glowing dim as an ember_

_Things my heart used to know_

_Things it yearns to remember_

_And a song someone sings_

_Once upon a December…_

"Don't worry, Abigail. Nothing's going to happen," Ben said in a reassuring way as he put on his heavy jacket.

Abigail crossed her arms in front of her defiantly. "How can I not? Every time you say that, something ends up happening," she replied. "And you're playing with fire this time, Ben. Not only are you dealing with a mad man, but you're also dealing with a man that has betrayed us, even tried to kill us. This is way too dangerous, Ben!"

"Please, Abigail," Ben muttered, gently grabbing hold of his wife's upper arms. "I have to do this. If I don't, Artem is threatening to kill the people I love along with so many innocent people. I'm not going to take that chance. And I'm not concerned about Ian. Believe it or not, there _is_ someone that he cares about who is at risk also. I don't think he would let Nick be hurt. You're going to be here at home and Clara is safe at Riley's, so neither one of you are going to be in any danger. I promise you, everything is going to be all right."

"Does it have to be so late, though?" Abigail asked quietly.

Ben glanced down at his watch. The glowing screen showed that it was almost half past two in the morning. Artem had called around three the previous day, and the treasure hunter had planned for Ian to arrive at their estate in half an hour early so they could find the Russian in plenty of time. The English man would be there any minute.

"I wish it didn't have to be, but please don't worry, Abigail," Ben answered just as quietly. Then, he rested his hand on her cheek, using his thumb to wipe away a tear that had fallen from her eyes. "Please don't cry. Nothing's going to happen." Then, he pulled his wife closer to him as he kissed her.

Abigail returned the action, but the moment was soon interrupted by the sound of Ben's cell phone ringing. Ben sighed as he released her and pulled out the small phone, flipping it open and bringing it to his ear when he saw that it was Ian. "Hello?" he said while Abigail sniffed and wiped the rest of the tears from her eyes. "All right. I'll be there in a minute."

"He's here?" Abigail asked while her husband closed the phone again.

"Yeah," Ben answered as he put his cell phone back in his pocket. "But don't worry. We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?"

Abigail nodded, quickly kissing Ben's cheek before he opened the front door and rushed out into the night. She stood in the open doorway, shivering in the cold winter's chill as she watched her husband climb into the passenger seat of the black SUV that was in their driveway. And as the treasure hunter met her gaze before he shut the door, Abigail had the terrible feeling that something was going to drastically go wrong.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian waited until Ben had his seatbelt on before he turned the SUV around and began to drive down the long driveway away from the house. There was no doubt that the atmosphere was very awkward, but the silence that was held between the two men only added to it. The English man noticed that the treasure hunter's eyes remained on the golden-haired form of Abigail in the side mirror until she disappeared from view.

"That's the thing about wives," Ian commented in an attempt to break up the tension. "They worry about every little thing."

Ben looked at Ian with slight surprise. "Oh, and I assume you have one and would know all about that," he muttered, but then mentally slapped himself. There was already plenty of tension between him and Ian, and he didn't need to say something that was so… well, so characteristic of Riley.

But Ian didn't seem to be too affected by the comment. "No, not me. Too much trouble," he told him as he pulled out of the estate driveway and on to a main road. "I have had a couple of girlfriends, though, but I don't want to get into anything too serious. It's hard to find a girl who will accept my… well, let's just say it's hard to find someone who will tolerate what I do."

"I bet a lot of people wouldn't." Ben sighed again. He really had to stop talking like Riley before he got Ian really mad. He must have been spending too much time with his best friend since he was picking up his manner of speaking.

Ian recognized the sarcastic tone as well as he laughed a little. "You know, I'm surprised that you didn't bring Riley with you, Ben."

"I didn't want to put him at risk," Ben explained quietly. "But you don't have Powell or anyone else with you either."

"This is between Artem and I," Ian replied, placing his hand gently on the side of his head where the Russian man's gun had connected with his skull. The spot still throbbed in protest to his touch, and he lowered his hand again as he held back a sigh. Artem would pay.

Ben sighed softly as he returned to looking out of the window. If the SUV's clock was correct, they had only passed about ten minutes by having their little conversation. Twenty more until Artem was going to call.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend another twenty minutes driving aimlessly around, not to mention wasting gas," Ian finally said, glancing at the clock. "We don't even know where this guy is. If I stop, do you want to grab something to eat or drink or something?"

"Sure," Ben replied. Surprisingly, food sounded appealing at almost three in the morning. "I'm pretty sure Taco Bell is open for twenty-four hours."

Ian smiled. "It's been forever since I've had Taco Bell, or anything from any kind of restaurant," he muttered. "Let's find one."

It didn't take the two men long to spot a glowing sign with the telltale red bell, and Ian pulled into the parking lot and shut off the car. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill plus two singles. "Here. Go get two soft-shell tacos and a medium soda, it doesn't matter what kind as long as it isn't diet, and whatever you want."

Ben took the money the English man offered him though he would have gladly used his own and stepped out of the SUV. Quickly glancing back at the vehicle, he ran across the parking lot and entered the almost empty building.

Ian sighed as he leaned back in his seat, turning the key in the ignition a little farther so that he could listen to the radio. He smiled slightly when he noticed that one of Nick's favorite songs was playing.

_Can't you help me as I'm starting to burn_

_Too many doses and I'm starting to get an attraction_

_My confidence is leaving me on my own_

_No one can save me and you know I don't want the attention_

He remembered that his younger stepbrother had first started listening to the song when his mother died, which was when he was seventeen years old. Ian had been twenty-five and preparing to leave for the States with Shaw, his best friend that he had made in college, but they both had remained in England when he got a phone call from Nick telling him that he wasn't going to stay with the older man's father and was planning on running away. To stop him, Ian agreed to stay until Nick was at least done with school, and he allowed the teenager to live in the apartment that he was sharing with Shaw. It wasn't that his father and Nick hated each other; it was just that the two had never really connected and the seventeen-year-old was going through a difficult time.

Ian had stayed in England for five more years until Nick was done with college, and then all three of them traveled to America. There they went their separate ways and stayed in touch only through phone and email, and that was when Nick had met Dustin and Ian had begun to finance Ben's hunt for the Templar Treasure.

The English man was brought out of his thoughts when Ben opened the passenger door of the SUV and climbed in with a bag of tacos and two medium sodas. "I didn't know if you wanted any sauce or not," the treasure hunter said as he handed Ian his change, food, and drink, "so I grabbed some just in case."

Both Ian and Ben nearly forgot the real reason they were out so late at night as they ate their "fourth meal". Maybe it was because they hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before, but they laughed as they read the short, silly messages on the sauce packs and as they dared each other to try the different kinds of sauces, ranging from the mildest to the hottest. For these couple of carefree minutes, Ben was reminded of the days that he and Ian had been friends before the one treasure hunt that had broken that friendship.

But the laughter ended as soon as three in the morning arrived. Ben was in the middle of eating his bit of taco with the hottest of the sauces when his cell phone began to ring. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket and brought it to his ear when he saw that it was an unknown number. "Hello?" he answered it, tears brimming in his eyes due to the spiciness of the sauce.

"Do you have my jewels, Gates?"

Ben looked at Ian when he realized that it was Artem and mouthed the word "jewels" to him. The English man nodded behind him, and the treasure hunter saw that the bag was sitting on the backseat behind the driver's side. "Yes," he said into the phone.

"Good," Artem replied on the other end. "Now, I want you to follow my instructions very carefully, the most important being _no_ police." The Russian man gave Ben instructions and an address before he abruptly hung up.

"That used to be an office supply warehouse," Ian muttered when Ben repeated the address to him. "It's abandoned now, though. It's also not too far from here."

"That's convenient," Ben said, taking a sip of his soda to try to cool his mouth. "I'm glad we stopped at Taco Bell."

The rest of the drive was silent as both Ben and Ian only concentrated on what was about to happen. They were to go in, give Artem the jewels, see if there was anything else he wanted so that he wouldn't unleash whatever he had in his possession, and get out. Simple. Ben desperately hoped that it truly was going to be that simple and not drastically go wrong as Abigail had predicted.

Soon, the abandoned warehouse came into sight, all of it's broken or empty windows strangely lit. Artem and his men were definitely there. Ian slowed the SUV to a stop on the gravel parking lot and shut it off. He then climbed out and grabbed the Romanov jewels out of the backseat, locking the vehicle when he saw that Ben was also out. Then, they both cautiously approached the giant building and knocked on the metal door.

It swung open with an eerie creak that reminded Ben of too many horror movies that he had seen, and he crashed into Ian as they both tried to enter at the same time. Ben finally squeezed through first, and he took tentative steps inside while Ian followed close behind.

Suddenly, two men with blond hair sprung out from behind them and grabbed their arms, searching them for any concealed weapons. They pulled a handgun out of Ian's coat and a pocketknife from Ben's pocket, and once they were sure that there weren't any more weapons, they shoved the two men to the hard floor. Ben looked up when he heard a sharp laugh and a stream of Russian. "Enough, Dimitri. Sacha."

The two blond-haired brothers backed away as two more stepped forward. The man with long, gray hair and one blind eye approached Ian, kicked him forcefully in the side, and took the bag of jewels from his hand. Ben watched as Ivan walked back to the man with black hair and deep green eyes. Artem.

"You do not have to remain on the floor, gentlemen," the head Russian man said, slowly walking forward with a limp in his left leg that Ian knew had been caused by Powell. A gun shone in his hand, which was trained on Ben and Ian and followed them as they slowly stood up. Then, Artem cast his green eyes to Ivan. "Check the jewels."

Ian and Ben watched as the older man dumped the jewels out on to a wooden table. Then, he picked up a hammer that was next to them and began to shatter the gems.

"What are you doing?" Ben cried, horrified. He wondered why Artem wanted the Romanov jewels so terribly just to destroy them. Not only was he destroying the gems themselves, but he was also destroying a fascinating part of history.

"Quiet, Gates," Artem told him, waving the gun carelessly in his direction. "We will soon find out if all of this work has paid off."

After a few more minutes of having to listen to the sickening sound of the priceless jewels being shattered, Ivan turned to face the rest of the group. "It is not here, Artem," he confirmed. "What we are searching for is still lost since it was not part of the set."

Artem's expression turned to one of deep annoyance. "Very well," he muttered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper as he turned his attention to Ben. "I have heard of your skills, Mr. Gates, of being able to find hidden items of great value. My men and I have been searching for a long time for such an item, but I am afraid we are stuck on this one clue."

Ben took the paper the Russian man offered him, but before he could unfold it to read what was written on it, the door burst open and FBI agents rushed in, all holding guns raised in front of them. Agent Hendricks and Matthew Sadusky led them.

"_Derr'mo_! I told you _no_ police!" Artem snapped furiously.

"We didn't bring them!" Ben protested desperately in their defense. "Artem, I mean it!"

"The neighbors thought there was some suspicious behavior going on here, so they called us in," Hendricks explained, his gaze straying from Artem and resting on Ian. "You are all under arrest!"

"I don't think so," Artem spat fiercely in a whisper. Then, he aimed his gun at Ben and fired.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It was almost as though time was moving in slow motion. Ben's heart leapt frantically, knowing that the bullet was coming directly at him. He was going to die. Why did Abigail always have to be right? Now, he was never going to see her again…

Suddenly, the treasure hunter was brought out of his pensive thoughts as he felt the force of someone pulling his arm down as he hit the concrete floor. The bullet flew over his head harmlessly, scattering the agents and digging into the wall behind him. Ben looked to his left at who had pulled him out of harm's way, surprise etched across his face.

"Ian, why did you-!"

"The last thing we need is a murder in this situation," Ian muttered in explanation, cutting off the other man.

But no matter what his excuse was, he had saved Ben's life.

Matthew led a group of agents after the four retreating Russians since Hendricks had claimed he had other matters to attend to, Artem being supported by Dimitri and Sacha because of the bullet still lodged in his ankle. Ivan looked over his shoulder and saw that they were being pursued, and he raised his gun. The younger Sadusky knew that he didn't have time to avoid the shot like he had been able to when the same man had kidnapped his brother, and the gun dropped from his hands as he collapsed to his knees on the hard floor, grasping his shoulder tightly where the bullet had embedded itself into his body as his breath came in gasps.

"Matt!" Ben cried with worry while the rest of the agents that had been with him continued to run after the running men. But before he could do anything to help him, more agents roughly pulled him and Ian off the floor, and he found himself facing Agent Hendricks.

"Long time no see, Howe," the head agent said with an edge to his tone while Ian smirked coldly back. "We've kept your cell warm for you." Then, he turned his attention to Ben. "As for you, Gates, I don't know what you think you're doing in the company of such criminals, but I have to do my job. You are both under arrest."

**A/N**: How much are all of you willing to bet that Agent Sadusky isn't going to be a happy guy? Lol! If his son being shot wasn't enough, Hendricks is being a big jerk. But anyway, you'll have to find out his reaction with my next update. And I hope you liked the Taco Bell part! But seriously, if you were in Ian's position, would you really want to drive around randomly and waste all that gas, especially if you don't know where you were supposed to be going? Exactly. Hence the random moment at Taco Bell. Okay, enough of my rambling. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: None of the characters from the movies are mine, but Artem, along with his gang, and Clara are mine.

**A/N**: Omg, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever! I've been super busy with my AP classes, including taking the four hour exams, and now a bunch of projects for finals. But now, even though my mouth is somewhat numb from the stupid dentist, I bring you the long-awaited next chapter! Thank you so much to **Charlotte Lewis**, **broadwaylover07**, **Miss Fenway**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Maira Blue**, **fantomfairy**, **Halo**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **SgtGroganSG**, and **LupinandHarry** for your inspiring reviews and incredible patience with my lack of updating. There's one minor swear word in this chapter, but I don't think any of you will care. Enjoy the next, kinda long chapter, everyone! Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!

Chapter Nine

Agent Peter Sadusky sighed heavily as he drove in the direction of the Hoover FBI building. Missing children cases were the ones he hated the most since he had two sons of his own, but he was fortunate that night that someone had spotted this young girl in time for him and his men to move in and get her away from the man who had taken her. The only part of missing children cases he actually liked was the safe return of the child to their parents, which he had been fortunate enough to do that night. Now, he was exhausted as he drove in the direction of the headquarters where Matthew was waiting for him so he could fill out a report on the completed case, and then he was looking forward to going home to his wife and younger son.

But then, his cell phone rang from his pocket. "Peter Sadusky," he said as he stopped at a stop sign. "Hendricks, slow down. What are you talking about?" He was silent for a minute as he listened to the other agent talk as he began driving again, but then his eyes widened in horror as he slammed on the brakes. "Matt was _what_?!"

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Hendricks, you can't do this," Matthew protested as he followed the agent to his desk where Ben and Ian were handcuffed. "You have no proof that these two men have done anything wrong. You can't just arrest them!"

"I can, and I will," Hendricks told him firmly, sitting down at the desk across from the two captives and began to fill out the arrest form. "Ian Howe has been a wanted man since he escaped from prison eight years ago. You're only an agent-in-training, Matt. You wouldn't understand."

"I understand this much," Matthew snapped. "Ian wasn't harming anyone tonight, and neither was Ben. In fact, he told me that Ian was helping him against that Russian man named Artem. That's who we really should be after, not these to. And because you were so concentrated on Ian and the noticeable grudge you seem to have against him, those Russian men escaped!"

Hendricks sighed and rubbed his eyes irritably. "Look, Matt. Just stay out of this," he said to the college student. "Harming anyone or not, Mr. Howe is still a wanted man, and Mr. Gates is in the company of a criminal. Therefore-!"

"Wait until my dad hears about this," Matt muttered, interrupting him. "Ben's a close friend of his."

"Look, kid. Don't put any more stress on your father than there already is," Hendricks warned somewhat angrily. "He knows that you've been shot, and I could get my ass fired for that alone. So just shut up and let me do this!"

"Do what exactly, Agent Hendricks?"

Everyone turned to face the doorway that led to the desk, and they were all shocked to see none other than Agent Peter Sadusky. None of them had even heard him approach, and they all wondered how much of the discussion he had heard. "Dad…" Matt muttered.

Concern appeared on the older agent's face as he approached his son and checked over his hastily wrapped shoulder. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not that bad," Matt answered as he shrugged, noticeably wincing when the action hurt his injured shoulder. "The medics took the bullet out and put some disinfecting stuff on it…"

"Okay. Now that I know you're not going to die at any moment, I'll deal with you later," Sadusky muttered. He walked past Ben and Ian and approached the desk. He picked up the arrest file that Hendricks had been filling out and quickly looked it over. Then, he tore it several times and threw the pieces onto the desk's surface in front of the other agent.

"On what grounds are you arresting these two men?" Sadusky demanded, pointing back at Ian and Ben who were carefully watching the head agent who was going to decide their fate.

Hendricks looked up at his boss nervously as he cleared his throat. "Um… Ian Howe, Sir, is a wanted man, and… um…"

"What was he doing that made you arrest him?" Sadusky pressed angrily. "What was _Ben_ doing?"

"Um… nothing, I guess…"

Sadusky sighed heavily. "Next time that you make a major mistake like this or you allow my son to be hurt again because you are worrying about your pride, you will be fired, Hendricks," he told him quietly but fiercely. "Am I clear?"

Hendricks nodded. "Yes, Agent Sadusky."

"Good." The head agent turned to Ben and Ian. "What actually was happening tonight, Ben? You guys weren't trying to steal something of high importance like the Declaration of Independence or something, were you?"

"No, Sadusky. Ian was helping me to go after Artem," Ben told him, fighting the smile that threatened to appear on his face. "He was doing nothing against the law. Artem and his men should have been the ones the FBI were targeting, not him. I'm sure you remember them, Sadusky."

Peter inwardly shuddered when he remembered how the same men had taken Jacob on the night of the museum break-in. "Yes, I do," he muttered, "and they should have been the targets, not you. You are both free to go."

Ian cast Ben a grateful look.

"_But_," Sadusky suddenly continued, stressing the dreadful word, "this is your only warning, Mr. Howe. Next time, you will be arrested."

"I understand," Ian replied. Then, he smiled slightly as both he and Ben were released from their handcuffs.

"All right then. Off you go," Sadusky said, placing his hands on both of the men's shoulders as he led them toward the door. "Ben, you know the way out. Take care."

"Thank you, Sadusky." Ben breathed a sigh of relief. He watched as the head agent's attention was switched back to his son's injury, and the he led the way away from the dark glare of Agent Hendricks.

Xxxxxxxxxx

The sun was a decent way up in the sky when Ian pulled up to the Gates' estate. It was half an hour after six in the morning since they had spent so much time in FBI custody. Though he thankfully hadn't died by Artem's bullet, Ben knew that Abigail was now going to kill him for being gone so long.

"Ben," Ian suddenly muttered as the treasure hunter opened the door. "I owe you one for getting me out of prison back there."

"Well, you saved me from being shot first," Ben countered. "We're even."

Ian shook his head as a slight laugh escaped from him. "I didn't do it to save you," he murmured, but a small smile had appeared on his face.

Ben returned it. "Thank you anyway, Ian."

"Yeah. Same to you, I guess…"

"You're welcome. Wish me luck with Abigail," Ben said with a laugh.

"From what I know about her, you'll need it," Ian replied with a slight smirk. "Later, Ben." Then, he turned the SUV around and began to make his way down the long driveway away from the house.

Ben sighed as he quickly walked up the stairs that led to the front door and opened it as quietly as he could, closing it almost silently as he attempted to sneak into the house. He slipped off his shoes and jacket without being detected, but he froze as soon as he entered the living room.

"You've been gone a while," Abigail commented accusingly with her arms crossed.

"Look, Abigail, it's not as bad as it seems," Ben tried to explain. "We got Artem the jewels he wanted, but then the FBI showed up. Ian and I were arrested, and-!"

"_Arrested_?!" Abigail cried in disbelief. "Ben, what in the world-!"

"Okay, okay. _Arrested_ isn't the right word," Ben muttered with a sigh as he raised his hand to try to calm his panicked wife. "Ian and I _were_ held in FBI custody until Sadusky was able to arrive and get us out, and that's what took us so long. All right?"

Abigail sighed as well. "And let me guess. That Russian man escaped."

Ben slowly nodded. "Yeah."

"See what I mean?" Abigail asked in an exasperated tone as she turned away from her husband and stood in front of the open window. "Every time you say that nothing's going to happen, something always does."

"Yes, but I'm back now, aren't I?" Ben answered with another question as he came up behind her, putting his arms gently around her waist as he placed his chin on her shoulder. "You were right, Abigail. I won't do anything like this again, okay?"

Abigail sighed, laying her head back against his chest. "That's not going to work to get back on my good side, Ben," she muttered with a small smile.

Ben returned it. "Then what about this?" He gently turned her around and leaned forward as he kissed her. Abigail returned it as she put her arms around his neck, knowing that this time, they wouldn't be interrupted by the treasure hunter's cell phone.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley slowly opened his eyes when the light of morning hit them. The first thing he saw was that Clara was sleeping next to him on the couch beneath his arm, and then he noticed that the _Anastasia _movie was still playing in the DVD player. He checked his watch and noticed that it was fifteen minutes after nine in the morning, realizing that he had fallen asleep before his niece had, and she didn't take out the DVD. It had to be stopped so the disc or the player wouldn't be harmed.

But how he was going to get off the couch without disturbing Clara, he didn't know. The techie carefully removed his arm from around her and pushed himself into a sitting position without waking her. Then, he pushed himself up to a crouching position as he attempted to step over her, but his foot slipped on the edge of the cushion, and he fell to the floor. "Ow…"

Clara quickly sat up when she heard the loud crash, thinking that something was wrong. But then, she saw that her uncle was lying on the floor and holding his head. "What are you doing, Uncle Riley?" she asked anxiously. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine," Riley answered in a mutter as he sat up. "I was just trying to get off the couch and turn off the DVD without waking you. I guess it didn't work so well…"

The eight-year-old laughed as she slid off the couch and sat on Riley's lap, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Uncle Riley," Clara told him with a smile.

"I love you too, but did you have to leave your movie on all night?" Riley replied.

"I'm sorry. I fell asleep."

"That's all right. I guess you can just keep watching it now since you're awake."

Clara looked up at him expectantly. "Can I play on your laptop, Uncle Riley?" she wondered with a sweet smile.

Riley shrugged. "Sure," he said. "You have a little time before your mother comes to get you."

His young niece smiled with excitement as she jumped off his lap and ran into his room to grab his prized portable computer. Riley sighed as he got to his feet and turned off the DVD. As he took out the movie and put it in its case while he turned on Sunday morning cartoons, the techie couldn't help but wonder what had happened with Ben the previous night. Had everything gone well? What had even happened? He would have to find out later.

Clara surfing through all of her favorite websites while Riley mainly zoned out at the television screen spent the next half hour. But during the second episode of The Smurfs, he had to get off the couch and do something else since there was only so much of watching little blue people he could take. The techie went into his refrigerator and began to pour himself a glass of orange juice, interrupted by the sound of a familiar knock on his apartment door.

"I got it," Riley told Clara, who was too absorbed in the laptop to notice anyway. He quickly ran into the living room still carrying his orange juice and approached the door, opening it to reveal Abigail.

"Hey, Riley. I hope she wasn't too much trouble," Abigail greeted as she gave the younger man a quick hug.

Riley laughed. "No trouble at all," he assured her, turning to look at the eight-year-old. "Come on, Clara. Your mom's here to get you."

"Look, Uncle Riley," Clara said, holding up the laptop. "Look what I found."

"What is it, Clara?" Riley asked as both he and Abigail approached her. The techie took the computer from her, and his eyes widened in horror as the girl's mother gasped when they saw what was on the screen.

"Clara, how did you get into Social Security records?!" Abigail cried.

"What, haven't we all hacked into something important like this when we were her age?" Riley said, trying to lighten the mood.

Abigail glared at him angrily. "Riley, I am going to kill you!"

But Riley held up his hands in defense after he quickly got out of the records on the laptop. "Not in front of the eight-year-old," he cautioned, glad that his niece was still sitting in the same room with them.

"You're lucky this time, Riley," Abigail finally muttered with a sigh, but there was a small smile on her face.

"I know," Riley replied as he set down his laptop and gave Clara a hug as she approached him. "That tends to happen a lot. It's fortunate that luck is on my side… most of the time, anyway."

Abigail nodded. "Yeah, luck does seem to be on your side a lot," she said after her daughter had left the room to grab her bag. "But-!"

"Uncle Riley, where's my DVD?" Clara suddenly called from the techie's room, interrupting her mother.

"It's still in here, Clara," Riley told her. "It's on top of the television."

Abigail watched as the eight-year-old ran into the living room and grabbed the _Anastasia _movie, but the conversation about luck still stayed on her mind. _"Luck seems to be on your side a lot, Riley," _she thought to herself sadly, _"but even that must run out sometime."_

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian sighed as he sat in a chair that faced the window of their hideout as the sun began to set. Nick and Powell sat on the floor near him and Dustin stood against the wall with his arms crossed in front of him on the other side of the room, but the English man ignored them. His thoughts were only on what had happened the previous night when he and Ben had gone to meet Artem. Why had there been a peace between them before they had gone to the warehouse? Why had he saved Ben from Artem's bullet without a second thought? Why had Ben focused on getting him out of police custody before himself? Was he beginning to feel that Ben could possibly be an ally?

No. They had gone their separate ways. Ben was only a hindrance now, and he was going to remain that way. Nothing would ever change that.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Good night, Clara," Ben muttered, kissing his daughter on top of the head. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy," Clara replied with a wide smile as she snuggled back into her pillow. "Good night."

Ben smiled as he turned off the light and shut the door behind him, sighing as he walked into the room he and Abigail shared. He wasn't tired since he had spent the majority of the morning and afternoon sleeping, but it would feel wonderful to just spend the night relaxing and not chasing after a crazed Russian man with his worst enemy.

As he sat down on the bed, Ben noticed that Abigail had taken the basket full of clothes that had been in their room down to the basement, planning on doing laundry that night. He laid down on his pillow with a heavy sigh, relieved that she wasn't making him do it and that that night was going to be a normal, quiet one, especially since Clara had school the next day. The treasure hunter knew that he was going to love spending the night with his family instead of running all over town…

Then, his cell phone began to ring. Ben frowned as he pulled it out of his pocket, seeing that it was an unknown number, and he flipped it open and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Have you figured out the clue yet, Gates?"

It was Artem. "What clue?" Ben wondered, trying to remember exactly what had happened the previous night. He couldn't recall anything about a clue.

"I gave you a piece of paper last night at the warehouse, Gates," Artem said. "Don't play dumb with me."

Ben was angered by the comment. "I truly have no idea what you mean-!" he began, but suddenly gasped. He remembered the paper now, and he also remembered that it was still in the pocket of the jeans he had worn that night, which Abigail was about to wash. "Hold on a second."

Keeping the cell phone to his ear, Ben jumped off of the bed and rushed out of his room, taking the stairs two at a time as he ran down them. He then rushed through the kitchen to get to the basement door, throwing it open before running down those stairs. He saw with alarm that Abigail had just put the last article of clothing into the washing machine and closed the large lid, about to custom the settings and turn it on.

"Abigail, don't start the washing machine!" he shouted.

His wife gasped and whirled around when she heard her husband, backing away from the washing machine as Ben approached and threw open the lid, beginning to dig through the clothes and throwing them out as he frantically searched for his jeans.

"Gates, what's going on?" Artem asked through the phone.

"Ben, what in the world do you think you're doing?" Abigail demanded angrily.

"Sorry, Abigail. This is important," Ben muttered in a rush before turning his attention to his cell phone. "I'm sorry, Artem. I'm getting your clue."

Abigail was about to reply as she watched her laundry flying through the air, but her husband was spared the lecture when the house phone began to ring. She hurried up the stairs to answer it, but then she came down with it a couple of minutes later. "Ben, Riley's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

"Tell him to wait a minute. Now's not a good time." Ben continued to dig through the clothes, finally finding the pair of jeans he had worn the previous day. He dug into the pocket, pulling out the folded piece of paper that Artem had given him. He carefully unfolded it and read the words written on it aloud:

"_The cure is found within the crown of Anastasia_. What does that mean?"

"We were hoping that you could help us with that," Artem explained. "My men and I only know that it is in Russia, our home country. You have forty-eight hours to get to Russia to help us find it. Otherwise, you know what will happen. _Dosvi'daniya_. Goodbye." Then, he immediately hung up, cutting off the treasure hunter's protests.

Ben sighed as he put his cell phone back in his pocket, turning to his wife and gesturing for the cordless phone. Abigail silently gave it to him, carefully watching him as he brought it to his ear. "Hey, Riley," he said casually. "So, how do you feel about going to Russia?"

**A/N**: Wow, that was longer than I thought. Hopefully, that means that it will make up for my time of absence! Kudos to **Halo** for giving me the idea about the clue being in the washing machine! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: Sorry, not mine. You'll have to talk to the cool guys who work with the movies to see if you can get credit for them. I obviously haven't done that, so they're not mine!

**A/N**: I'm so sorry for the long wait again, guys, but now I'm on summer break so I think I should be able to update faster. Things are still kinda hectic for other reasons, but at least I don't have school to worry about too! Thank you so much to **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Halo**, **Charlotte Lewis**, **LoremIpsum**, **broadwaylover07**, **fallen.leaves19**, **daisyduke80**, **Miss Fenway**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **LupinandHarry**, **SgtGroganSG**, **AliuIce0814**, and **Majestik Moose** for your wonderful reviews and incredible patience with me. This chapter is a kind of shorter, transition chapter, but I hope you like it anyway! It's what's going on before everyone leaves for Russia. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

"You seriously mean that we're going to Russia?"

"Yeah. We have to. You know what Artem is capable of."

Riley sighed as he put his head into his hands. "Why does everything always have to be so difficult?" he asked in a sarcastic way. The techie had come to the Gate estate to learn what had happened with Artem the previous night while Clara was still in school.

Abigail sighed as she faced her husband. "Ben, we can't just pack up and leave for Russia," she said with annoyance.

Ben gave her a small smile. "At least you knew a little more in advance this time," he muttered, attempting to lighten the mood.

His attempt failed, however, because Abigail shook her head and turned her back on him. Ben sighed, reaching out a hand to touch his wife's shoulder. "Come on, Abigail…"

"No, Ben. Stop," Abigail snapped, quickly standing up as she pushed his hand away. "I'm not going to be a part of another one of your treasure hunts! We have a daughter now, and one of us has to grow up and take care of Clara! It's obviously not going to be you, Ben."

Riley nervously looked from Abigail to Ben and back, remembering an eerily similar conversation that Patrick and Emily had while Ben was growing up…

"It's because of Clara that I have to go to Russia, Abigail!" Ben replied heatedly. "It's for her safety, your safety, everyone's safety! You don't understand!"

"Then tell me what's going on, Ben!" Abigail told him angrily. "Who is this Artem? What does he want with you? Tell me!"

Riley covered his ears as both Ben and Abigail's fierce words and arguments blended together, not able to tell what either of them were saying. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer. The techie pushed himself to his feet and stood between Ben and Abigail, shouting, "Stop!" He watched as both of his friends went silent and looked at him, and Riley sighed with relief. "Can't we just work this out like the civilized adults we are?"

Ben stared at Abigail for a long moment before he slowly nodded. He sat down on the couch with Riley while Abigail sat in a chair across from them. "So, what do we do now, Ben?" she asked quietly.

Riley glanced at the treasure hunter nervously while he checked his watch. "We have to pick up Clara early from school so we can get to the airport on time," Ben answered her. "Don't worry, Abigail. I'll explain everything to you on the way."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Dustin finished putting things he needed for the trip ahead in his backpack before zipping it shut. Then, he looked around the room he had used in their hideout to make sure that there wasn't anything he had forgotten. It appeared to be all cleaned out, which was a good thing.

But then, he noticed a small corner of what appeared to be a picture frame sticking out from under the chair. He knelt down and carefully picked it up, turning it over to look at the picture it contained. He gasped at what he saw.

It was a picture of him and Riley when they were young children, and judging by the snow in the background and the heavy coats they were wearing, it had been taken during winter. Dustin's eyes lingered on his brother for a long moment before suddenly slamming the frame on the hard floor, hearing the glass shatter. He had to get rid of the memory… Then, he turned it back over and saw that a crack now ran down the center of the frame, separating him from Riley. The glass over his brother's image was completely intact, but the glass over his image was completely shattered.

Then, Dustin looked over his shoulder when the door to the room opened, and he saw that Nick was standing in the doorway. "Are you ready to go?" he asked. "Ian said that it's time to leave."

"Yeah, I'm ready," Dustin answered quietly. "Just give me a minute. I'll be there soon."

Nick nodded and closed the door again. When he was sure that he was gone, Dustin looked back at the picture that he had found. After another minute of looking at it, he allowed the old picture to fall from his hand to the floor, where it would remain. With it, he was leaving his old self behind. He was leaving Riley behind. Nothing would be the same once he left this room.

For only a minute, Dustin felt a twinge of regret for completely abandoning Riley. But it had to be done. He slowly stood up and grabbed the door handle, taking a deep breath before pulling it open and stepping out before shutting it behind him. Now, there was no turning back.

"_Goodbye, Riley."_

Xxxxxxxxxx

"So let me get this straight," Abigail muttered from the passenger seat of Ben's car. "Artem has a deadly disease in his possession and is threatening to unleash it on the world if you don't do everything that he says?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Ben told her casually. When he saw Abigail's expression of disbelief, he shrugged. "Riley looked it up for me and said that it was possible."

"It's true," Riley supported from the backseat.

"And with Artem, I'm not going to take any chances," Ben concluded. "He is one messed up guy."

Abigail shook her head. "Well, if that's the case, I don't know if I feel comfortable having Clara along with us," she stated.

"Believe me, Abi," Riley told her. "I don't like it either, but Clara's much safer under our watchful eyes in Russia than here without us."

"Well, I still don't like this," Abigail muttered, watching with narrowed eyes as Ben pulled up in front of the school.

Ben glanced back at her, quickly kissing her cheek before he climbed out of the car and disappeared into the school. Riley sighed, leaning into the front seat and turning the key forward in the ignition so the radio would turn on.

Abigail laughed a little as the techie moved into the backseat again. But then, her smile vanished as she became serious. "Hey, Riley?"

"Yeah?" Riley said from behind her.

"This disease really does exist then?" Abigail asked cautiously.

Riley slowly leaned forward in the seat again so that he could look at her. "Yes. It exists," he answered darkly. "It's actually a deadly toxin that kills whoever is infected with it within a couple of hours. There has never been an actual bacterial outbreak, but there was a controlled case in Russia during the Romanov era."

"How is it transmitted?" Abigail wondered, starting to feel nervous.

"Through physical contact or liquid," Riley told her gravely. "I guess the plan is that Artem is going to infect one person see how it goes from there if Ben doesn't agree to do whatever he says."

"This… this disease is what Artem has then," Abigail muttered. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"Oh, yes," Riley replied, his tone turning sarcastic when he saw Ben and Clara coming toward the car. "It's in his oh so capable hands."

Abigail looked as though she wanted to say more, but then she smiled when Clara climbed into the car beside Riley and Ben got in behind the wheel. "This is a treat, isn't it Clara?" she said. "You get to leave school early and miss a few days."

Clara grinned broadly. "Is what Daddy said true? Are we really going to Russia?" she asked with excitement, looking at Riley and then back at Abigail.

"Yes, it's true," Abigail answered, her eyes nervously moving to Riley for a second. "We're going to Russia."

"I can't wait! This is awesome!" Clara explained. "But we have to pack, don't we?"

"No, Clara. We packed everything this morning already," Ben told her as he pulled out of the parking lot. "It's all sitting in the trunk. Now, we have to go the airport to catch our flight."

Xxxxxxxxx

Ian waited by the door of their hideout with Nick, waiting for Dustin to finish packing and for Powell to finish making his last trip to the bathroom. He smiled slightly, knowing that the four tickets he had ordered online were waiting for them at the airport. One thing he was thankful for about hanging low for eight years was that no one was looking for him anymore. It would be good to get out for a while.

And nothing was sweeter than revenge. Ian knew that he was going to love this more than any other revenge plan that he had done in his entire life. This man had wronged him too many times for his liking, and he was going to strike at a time and place that he was never going to expect.

Ian smiled to himself as Dustin came into the room and Powell followed a couple of minutes later. He knew he was going to love every minute of this.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben stared out the large window, waiting to see the plane that would take them to another airport in America so they could transfer and catch their plane to Russia. For the first time in a long time, he felt nervous. In fact, he felt more nervous than he ever had about a hunt. But that was because so many innocent lives hung in the balance…

Then, he jumped when a hand suddenly landed on his arm. "Ben, relax," Abigail muttered, placing her hand on his cheek. "It's all right. Why don't you come sit down with me so you don't make _me _so nervous? Clara was getting restless, so Riley went with her to go get a pretzel. You can tell me what's on your mind."

Sighing, Ben allowed his wife to bring him to the row of seats where their luggage was and sat down. He placed his head into his hands, feeling incredibly stressed. "What's wrong, Ben?" Abigail asked once they were both seated. "You didn't lose your chapstick going through security again, did you?"

Ben took a deep breath, though a small smile appeared on his face. But he checked his pocket, just to make sure. Yep. His chapstick was till there. "No, Abigail. I still have my chapstick," he answered quietly, raising his head to look at her. "It's just…"

Abigail took his hand in hers, beginning to feel nervous. "It's just what, Ben?"

"This is the most dire situation that we've ever been in, Abigail," Ben muttered, kissing her forehead. "The fate of the entire world rests on this one hunt. There is no room for mistakes this time. This time, if I mess up, a lot of people will die."

"I'm sure it will work out, Ben," Abigail tried to reassure him with a small smile as she squeezed his hand. "There is always some miraculous way that it does… Ben? Did you hear me?"

Ben wasn't looking at her anymore, but past her. In the crowd of people moving through the airport, he saw a man that he recognized but didn't think that he would see.

It was Ian Howe.

**A/N**: Yeah. As I said, more of a transition chapter. In the next one, they'll actually be on the way to Russia. But I still hoped you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: Don't worry. If they were truly mine, you would be seeing me in Russia with them, not sitting here at home and being like, "So, they're now flying off to Russia…." But, Clara, Nick, and Dustin are mine, as well as the crazy Russian people!

**A/N**: I love summer, and I think you guys do too since that means I get to update more! Yes, I'm back with another update, but that's because that I now have free time to write and get to a computer. I'm so glad you guys liked the last chapter, though I wasn't too pleased with it myself. I like this one better, mainly because they're actually getting somewhere. This one is sort of a transition too, but more things actually happen. In the next chapter, things will really begin to pick up! But this chapter covers a two-day span, so the section after Riley and Ben's conversation starts the second day. Thank you so much to **Spellinggirl**, **LoremIpsum**, **LupinandHarry**, **Miss Fenway**, **Charlotte Lewis**, **The Elder Swear**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Halo**, and **myloveimfaithfullyyours** for your supportive reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Note**: Again, this is National Treasure, so there will be mixing of fact and fiction. For convenience and for this story to flow, I'm going to be using one of the homes of the Romanov family that is located in St. Petersburg, Russia as the city and Russia where Ben and co. must go. Also, a swear word is said by Dustin, but again, I don't think anyone cares! As long as I warn you, lol. So, again, enjoy!

Chapter 11

"Ben!"

Ben blinked when he heard his wife's voice, and Ian vanished into the crowd. It was probably just a trick of his imagination and he hadn't really seen him at all… He then turned back to look at her with a small smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Abigail. What did you say?"

Abigail glared back at him. "I didn't say anything, Ben," she told him. "I'm wondering what you're staring at."

"Oh. It's nothing, Abigail," Ben replied. "I just thought I saw someone, that's all. But, they're not there, so never mind about that."

He could tell that Abigail was still suspicious of him by the look on her face, but they were soon interrupted by a twisted pretzel appearing in front of both of their faces. "Look, Daddy!" Clara said brightly, climbing on to Ben's lap. "Uncle Riley got me a pretzel!"

"I see that," Ben muttered, glancing at Riley, who smiled sheepishly.

"You didn't tell me that you wanted anything, Ben," the techie protested in his defense.

"I know, Riley. That's because I didn't want anything."

Suddenly, Abigail grabbed his arm. "Ben, our flight's here!" she said.

"All right then," Ben muttered, grabbing his bags. "Let's go. There is no way we can miss this flight!"

xxxxxxxxxx

The first part of the journey to Russia didn't seem to take so long, and they landed at the airport in the early evening. But the second part was going to take longer, most likely until the early evening of the next day since they were flying to a different country.

When night approached, all of the passengers on the plane appeared to fall asleep at once. Riley stood up and pulled his iPod out of his carry-on bag, smiling when he saw that Clara was curled up on her seat beside Abigail, both asleep. He sat back down in his seat behind them, noticing that Ben was still strangely missing before he put his earphones in his ears and began to listen to "Taste of India" by Aerosmith. His eyes closed as he laid his back against the seat, feeling a yawn escape from him. He was more tired than he had thought.

"Riley, are you awake?"

At the sound of the quiet question and the gentle hand on his arm, Riley opened his eyes and looked to his right. He blinked in surprise when he saw that Ben was suddenly back from wherever he had disappeared to. "Well, I am now," the younger man complained, sitting up straighter in his seat and taking out one of his earphones. "What's up?"

Ben sighed heavily as he looked at his best friend. "I'm just… I'm nervous, Riley," he muttered, almost as if in defeat. "There's so much at stake this time if I fail."

Riley sighed and turned in his seat to completely face the older man, and a small smile appeared on his face. "Listen to me. You're the great Benjamin Franklin Gates. It's pretty much impossible for you to fail," he told him. "You haven't failed this far, and I'm sure you won't this time. Even though we've never dealt with a crazy Russian group before…"

"There's a first time for everything, Riley," Ben countered quietly. "What if this is that time? What if things go horribly wrong are you are infected with the disease. Or Abigail?"

"Ben, things never go horribly wrong with us," Riley reminded him. "They almost do, but they never actually do. Besides, that's a risk I'm willing to take, and same with Abigail. We know what can go wrong, but we don't care. We're still going with you. A little late now, unless you want us to jump out of the plane… But I mean, come on. We're off to save the world, aren't we?"

Despite the bad feeling that had settled in Ben's heart, the treasure hunter felt a small smile beginning to form on his face. "Yes, we are," he agreed.

Riley grinned. "Sweet! Maybe we'll get a movie made about us after this. Or maybe even our own action figures. Picture this. Ben Gates with Declaration-stealing and president-kidnapping action!"

"Riley Poole with ten smart-mouth action phrases," Ben teased, laughing a little at the thought of him and his family as small, plastic figures. "Toy laptop included."

"And of course, Abigail Gates with her ten nagging phrases and Mean-Declaration-Lady action," Riley concluded proudly.

Ben couldn't help but laugh again, but he looked at the seats ahead of them to make sure that Abigail was still sleeping. Thankfully she was, or else Riley would be missing his laptop. "Those wouldn't be very popular in stores," he added, not able to contain the joke.

Riley laughed, but he made sure that he was quiet enough so Abigail wouldn't wake up. "Dang, Ben," he said, smiling broadly. "If Abi would have heard you say that, you would bee sleeping on the couch for the next week!"

As he laughed again, Ben was relieved that he decided to talk to Riley. Through all the reassurances and joking, his fears about the danger that lay ahead were repressed, and he knew that everything would work out all right. It had to. It always did. "All right, Riley. Get some sleep," the older man muttered, yawning. "We have a big day ahead of us when we land in Russia tomorrow."

"All right," Riley agreed sleepily, watching as Ben situated his pillow so he could fall asleep and be comfortable. "Good night, Ben."

"Good night, Riley."

Riley sighed as he turned back to looking out the window absently, not able to see anything except for the night sky. He was relieved that his words had been able to calm Ben, even though he wasn't sure if he believed them himself. He had said that nothing would go horribly wrong, that Ben wouldn't fail, but the older man had been right when he said that there was much more at stake this time. There were too many things that _could_ go horribly wrong, especially when dealing with a man who wasn't quite all there and had a very deadly disease in his possession. And in truth, he was terrified by the idea that he could catch this disease, but he knew that it would be better if it was him than Ben, Abigail, or… No, he wasn't even going to think about the third option, the worst thing that could possibly happen. He knew that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that it didn't happen.

Finally not able to hold his eyes open any longer, Riley put his second earphone back in and laid back against his pillow, allowing his heavy eyelids to close as he drifted into a light and uneasy sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Dustin silently gazed out the window, starting at the gray sky as it steadily darkened. They were finally reaching the end of their flight as evening approached, and they would soon be landing in St. Petersburg, Russia. He hadn't even wanted to come along on this trip, but he knew that Ian wouldn't have allowed him to stay behind.

But then, Dustin suddenly remembered that his father, Jeremy Poole, had gone to St. Petersburg during college. He had always been telling him and Riley how beautiful it was and how he had hoped for them to have the chance to go one day. Well, at least one of his sons was fulfilling his wish.

Powell turned to look at Dustin, sitting still and silent in the seat beside him, and he laughed a little. "Hey, Sunshine. Do you ever smile?" he asked teasingly.

Dustin slowly turned to face the older man, his eyes glaring at him angrily. "Shut up," he muttered before turning back to looking out the window.

But Powell only laughed at his response. "Oh, I'm so scared…"

"Don't aggravate him, Powell," Ian warned from the seat in front of them. "It's not worth the time or the effort."

Powell grinned at Ian, watching as a small grin appeared on the other man's face as well. Dustin rolled his eyes, otherwise not paying any attention to them. Nick looked back at the older Poole from where he sat beside Ian, frowning slightly when he saw how angry he looked. Ian noticed this out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't worry about him, Nick," the English man said, watching as his younger stepbrother turned to look at him. "He'll get over it. Besides, we're going to be landing in St. Petersburg in a couple of minutes anyway."

Nick nodded in response, turning back around to face the front of the plane. He hoped that once they reached their destination, the tensions from being cooped up in the plane for nearly two days would evaporate, and the fragile alliance that they had with Dustin, or at least what was left of it, would remain intact.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"So, this is St. Petersburg, Russia."

"Yep. Beautiful, isn't it?"

Riley nodded, but his expression looked as though he was about to complain about something. "Well, Dad was right about it being beautiful, but he failed to mention all the snow."

The techie was standing with Ben, Abigail, and Clara, looking out at the city of St. Petersburg from the window of the airport. Abigail laughed. "Why are you complaining, Riley?" she asked. "It was winter back at home too."

"That may be, Abs," Riley answered in a mutter, "but how much are you willing to bet that it's colder in winter here than winter back home?"

Abigail smiled. "You're probably right about that, Riley," she admitted.

Clara beamed with excitement as she looked out at the snow-covered city below her. "Daddy, this is just like in the movie!" she exclaimed.

Ben smiled. "Yes, Clara. It is," he told her. "We're going to be doing a lot of things dealing with Anastasia during our stay."

"Will we see her?" Clara asked.

"I don't think so, Clara, but we will learn a lot about her," Ben answered with a small laugh. But then, his smile vanished when he remembered the folded piece of paper that was tucked safely in his jeans' pocket. _The cure is found within the crown of Anastasia._ The cure was here in Russia, he was sure of that. But _where_ in Russia was the problem. It could have been anywhere…

Clara smiled up at Ben, but then she looked up at Abigail. "Mommy, I'm thirsty. Can we get a drink?"

"Sure, sweetheart," Abigail told her before turning to look at Ben. "You two will still be here, right?"

"Yeah, we'll be here," Ben said, smiling at his wife. "You go ahead."

Abigail smiled only half-heartedly before taking Clara's hand and leading her to find a drink, leaving their luggage behind. Once they were gone, Riley turned to face the older man. "All right. Show me the clue that Artem gave you."

Ben dug into his pocket and pulled out the folded sheet of paper, handing it to his best friend. Riley quickly unfolded it and read over the scribbled handwriting, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "The cure is found within the crown of Anastasia?" he muttered. "I'm not very good with riddles, and this one is definitely confusing. My only guess would be like the palace or something where the rest of the jewels could be on display."

"That's what I was thinking," Ben agreed, taking the paper back from him and putting it in his pocket. "So as soon as we're settled in our hotel, we'll check it out. I know that a popular attraction is the renovated Romanov Palace, which has been turned into a museum."

"Sounds like a good place to start," Riley supported.

"A good place to start for what?"

Ben tensed when he heard the familiar English accent, and he slowly turned around to find himself face to face with Ian Howe. Behind him stood Nick, Powell, and Dustin. So, he _had _seen Ian at the airport back at home after all… Riley's face darkened when the older Poole smirked at him.

"Interesting to see you here, Ben," Ian continued in a friendly manner. "I mean, we're in another country and all. But tell me, why _are_ you here?"

"Remember that 'everyone's going to die' thing that Artem was talking about?" Ben asked, seeing the confused looks that Powell gave him. "Well, he brought it up to another level. He didn't find what he wanted back at home, so he forced me to fly to Russia so that I could help him find it."

"And of course Riley, the ever faithful puppy, has tagged along with his master," Dustin sneered coldly.

Riley's face grew even darker and his eyes narrowed as he tried to lunge at his brother, but Ben was able to hold him back. He looked at Ian, who turned to Dustin and gave him a warning glare. Dustin returned the glare before turning his back on the group.

"So, what exactly does Artem want to find?" Ian asked, turning to look at Ben again.

"The cure for the disease," Ben answered, making sure that Riley wasn't going to try to get at Dustin again. "At least, that's what I'm assuming by the information that Artem gave to me."

Ian looked at him thoughtfully. "May I see it?" he wondered.

Ben hesitated for a minute, feeling as though he had already revealed too much. After all, Ian had betrayed him over a treasure, even tried to kill him. But then, Ian had also saved him from being killed by Artem. He felt indebted to him, and he was confident that Ian felt the same toward him since he had saved him from being thrown back in prison. There was an unstable truce between them, but it was still a truce. That was the reason, despite Riley's look of disbelief, that Ben handed the small slip of paper to Ian.

The English man looked the paper over quickly before giving it back. "So, you think that it's in the Romanov Palace then?" Ian said.

"Well, it would be a good place to start anyway," Ben replied. "Just to get a good ground for the rest of our search."

Ian nodded. "That does make sense," he agreed. "The reason that we're here also relates to Artem, but if we can find that cure… I'll tell you what. We're going to go get settled in our hotel, and we'll meet you at the palace in half an hour."

Ben smiled slightly. "Sounds good," he told him. "See you then."

"Later, Ben," Ian muttered before he, Nick, Powell, and Dustin disappeared into the crowd.

"So now Ian's suddenly helping?" Riley asked, his frustration showing through in his tone. "Why not just invite him to come stay with us, and maybe then he can take the place of _your puppy_."

Ben blinked in surprise, knowing that Riley's rotten mood had come from the brief encounter with Dustin. But he hadn't seen this kind of hostility come from the techie before… "Relax, Riley," he tried to calm him. "No one's going to replace you."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no?" he countered. "What about your new best friend?"

"Ian's not my new best friend, Riley. You'll always have that title," Ben replied. "Look, I don't know why he's here, but we've both encountered Artem before, and I'm willing to accept any help that he can offer since he knows what we're dealing with."

The techie looked as though he was about to say more, but he held it back as Abigail returned with a cup of steaming coffee and Clara with a can of soda. "There was a long line," the older explained with a smile as she took a cautious sip of her hot beverage. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're going to get settled in at our hotel, and then we're going to go to the Romanov Palace," Ben told her, casting a look to Riley. "Oh, and be prepared to meet some people there."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Why are you helping _them_?" Dustin asked in disbelief after he, Ian, Powell, and Nick boarded a bus that would bring them to their hotel. "It doesn't make any sense, Ian."

"Look, Dustin. I know you hate your brother, but there is a reason for my decision," Ian answered as calmly as he could, taking a seat in the back of the bus with Powell and Nick beside him. "I have no intent on helping Ben save the world. I'm not a hero. But with his help, we can find whatever this cure is faster. And since Artem has crossed me too many times, we can use the cure as leverage since he wants it."

Nick smirked. "Clever," he muttered. "Maybe it's a good thing that Ben's here after all. He could help your plans for revenge along nicely, no matter how unknowingly." Powell nodded in agreement.

"I still don't like it," Dustin said, crossing his arms. "We don't need Ben. We know the clue. We can just find the damn thing ourselves."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Face it, Dustin, you just don't like the idea of being close to Riley," he retorted. "Well, it's just something that you're going to have to get over, and fast."

Dustin didn't say anything in response. Ian sighed, looking ahead of him at the front of the bus. He blinked in surprise when he saw that a cute little girl with pigtails was looking at him curiously. When she saw that she had his attention, she began to speak quickly in Russian.

"Does anyone know what she's saying?" Ian whispered in awe, glancing at the people with him. Powell shrugged while Nick shook his head. Dustin only looked away from them, his gaze suddenly interested in something out the window.

"You could always call Viktor to find out," Powell suggested. "He might know."

Ian laughed a little as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Viktor's number before he brought it to his ear. "No answer," he told him as he put the small phone back in his pocket. "Where's Viktor when I actually need him?"

Powell laughed a little. "Well, I guess he can't join us in Russia then," he muttered with another shrug. "Oh, well. His loss."

"His loss indeed." Ian leaned back against the seat, a sigh escaping from him. Revenge on Artem is what he wanted, what he flew all the way to Russia for, but he hated having the feeling that he needed help to complete it.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ivan grinned as he watched Ben lead Riley, Abigail, and Clara out of the crowded airport through his one good eye before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a familiar number. The call was answered after the first ring.

"_Da_? Yes, Ivan? What is it?" a man with a heavy Russian accent asked.

"Gates has arrived, Artem. He and his family are leaving the airport now," Ivan answered. "They are going to the Romanov Palace."

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Artem laughed. "Make sure Gates knows that we have already checked there," he instructed. "You know what to do, Ivan."

A grin appeared on the older man's face when he heard his order. "_Da._ Yes. It would be my pleasure, Artem."

**A/N**: Whoa, that chapter turned out to be longer than I thought! But, I'm pleased with it. And as I said, things will begin to pick up in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! You're reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movies are mine, blah, blah, blah…

**A/N**: Ah, summer's great! But even with all of my time off, I'm still very busy. Sorry that this chapter took a little longer than I thought to get on. It took me longer to write than I thought, and I have been very busy as of late with my friends. Also, if I don't update again overly soon, happy 4th of July if you celebrate it! Okay, thank you to **fallen.leaves19**, **LoremIpsum**, **myloveimfaithfullyyours**, **Halo**, **Miss Fenway**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Spellinggirl**, **Yin7**, **LupinandHarry**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, and **broadwaylover07** for your reviews! I must say, I love them all. And also be warned that there will be a lot of surprises coming up in this story, so I hope that it keeps the story interesting and moving. The story also picks up a lot here in momentum, so please enjoy! This chapter is looooooooong.

Chapter 12

The cell phone began to ring from his pocket, and Dimitri quickly reached in and pulled it out. "_Zd'rravstvuite?_ Hello?"

"Gates has arrived in Russia," the gravely voice of Ivan answered. "Are you still keeping your eyes on the hotels?"

"_Da._ Yes," Dimitri told him. "I will find out which one Gates is staying at."

"It's not Gates that I need you to watch out for. I've got him covered," Ivan replied. "But when he arrived, I saw that blond English man was here also and was talking to Gates. Artem told me that he's the one I need you to look out for. He has another blond-haired man, a dark, curly-haired man, and another dark-haired man with him."

Dimitri watched as a bus slowed to a stop on the street in front of him, and four people that matched the description that Ivan had given him stepped out and headed for one of the hotels that was on that street. "Goth him," he said into the phone. "_Po-ka. _Bye." He then hung up and put the phone back in his pocket before crossing the street and following Ian into the hotel.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Clara's eyes were wide as they stepped out of the bus that brought them to their hotel, wishing that she had a camera with her. Abigail smiled as she grabbed her hand and began to lead her to the hotel that had come with their flight package with Riley behind them, but some people who were walking into another hotel across the street at the other end caught Ben's attention. It was Ian Howe along with Nick, Powell, and Dustin, and the treasure hunter felt slightly better to know that they weren't overly far away if he was going to use their help.

But then, his eyes narrowed when he recognized one of the blond-haired men that worked with Artem, either Dimitri or Sacha, he didn't know which, following close behind them and entering the hotel. He felt that something wasn't right…

"Ben!"

The treasure hunter looked back at his wife, seeing that she was standing impatiently by the door of the hotel with Riley and Clara, all waiting for him. Ben sighed as he quickly joined them, wondering why one of Artem's men would be following Ian. Whatever the reason was, it couldn't be good. Artem must not have expected him to come, and it was not a good thing that the English man was there.

Once they checked in at the desk in the hotel lobby, Ben led the way up to their room, which was on the sixth floor. He unlocked and opened the door before giving the extra copies of the room key to Abigail and Riley, and they found themselves standing in a decent-sized living area with everything included- a television, a couch, a couple of chairs, a microwave, and a small refrigerator. Clara smiled broadly as she looked around while Ben opened the door across the room, revealing a larger room with two queen-sized beds and another lounging chair by the window. Upon further inspection, a bathroom and a closet were also discovered.

"I call the bed by the window!" Clara exclaimed, running into the bedroom.

"Hey! That's mine, you stinker!" Riley protested, running in after her.

"It doesn't have your name on it!"

Ben smiled and laughed a little, following them into the room with Abigail. His smile broadened when he saw that Clara and Riley had both set their bags on the bed next to the window and were both determined not to give it up. "All right, kids. Stop fighting," the treasure hunter said as he set his bag down on the second bed while Abigail laughed. "The bed's big enough for both of you."

"But, Ben. I like having the bed all to myself!" Riley mock complained, looking at Ben with puppy eyes. "Besides, there's a couch in the other room she can sleep on."

Clara's eyes widened in horror, and Ben laughed again. "Don't worry, Riley. She'll probably end up in our bed anyway."

"I'm sorry, Uncle Riley!" Clara suddenly cried, running around the bed and hugging him tightly. "You can have the bed! Just don't make me sleep on the couch!"

Riley laughed as he pulled his niece up into his arms and sat on the bed, holding her on his lap. "I was just kidding, Clara," he told her with a smile. "You can share the bed with me."

Clara looked up and returned the smile, but then she noticed that the techie's gaze had landed on her wrist. "Hey, you're wearing the bracelet I gave you," Riley muttered, recognizing the sliver bracelet with the diamond pendant on it that he had found with the Jesse James treasure eight years before.

"Yeah, of course I am. I wear it all the time. It's my favorite," Clara replied. "Where did you get it, Uncle Riley? I've never seen anything like it before."

Ben smiled to himself when he heard his best friend clear his throat nervously and told Clara that it was a rather long story, walking past them to stand by the window. They had a wonderful view of the snow-filled city of St. Petersburg from their hotel window along with the mountain range that lay beyond it, and the treasure hunter couldn't wait until he could start exploring. He only wished that the reason he was there was not so dire.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in horror when he saw a man with gray hair tied back behind his head standing on the sidewalk beneath him, looking up at him with one blind, blue eye and a smirk on his face when he met Ben's gaze. It was Ivan.

"Ben."

The treasure hunter quickly looked behind him and saw that Abigail was staring back at him. "What did you say?"

Abigail sighed and crossed her arms. "I asked if you heard what Riley said to you," she repeated with a hint of annoyance.

"No," Ben muttered, turning to look at the techie. "I'm sorry, Riley. Did you say something?"

Riley couldn't hide a frustrated eye roll. "Yes, I did, Ben. I said that we should probably start heading to the Romanov Palace since we said we'd be there in a half hour," he told him.

Ben nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly, turning to look back out the window. "Good idea, Riley." He noticed with relief that Ivan was no longer standing outside. "Let's get going."

"Just a minute, Ben," Abigail muttered, stopping her husband from leaving the window. "What's going on with you? Did you see someone again?"

But Ben smiled slightly at her words. "You're making it sound as though I'm schizophrenic."

Abigail's eyes narrowed at his comment. "Sometimes I wonder."

"I'll talk to you about it later, Abigail. I promise," Ben whispered, gently placing his hands on her arms as he stepped past her. "But now, we really need to get to the palace. Would you like to go with us?"

"No thanks, Ben. I think I'm going to stay here. I have a bit of a headache from the flight," Abigail told him. "You three have fun."

Ben nodded, kissing his wife's cheek. "Don't worry. We'll be back soon. You rest up."

Xxxxxxxxxx

After checking into their room, Ian prepared to head for the Romanov Palace. He hadn't brought much to St. Petersburg and neither had Nick, Powell, or Dustin, so they felt comfortable with bringing everything they had brought in their backpacks along with them to meet with Ben. The English man loathed the idea that he needed unneeded assistance for his revenge plans, but the plans fulfilled would be worth it in the end.

"Are you guys ready?" Ian asked after they had rested for a few minutes.

Powell and Nick nodded in answer, but Dustin sighed irritably. "Let's just hurry and get this over with," he muttered.

Ian rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored Dustin as the four of them left the room. He wasn't going to let him interfere with his plans or get on his nerves. He couldn't afford any distractions now. They hurried down the stairs and through the lobby to the front door, but they didn't notice the brown eyes of Dimitri carefully watching them.

Once the four of them were gone, the blond Russian man took out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number. "_Zd'rravstvuite?_ Hello? Dimitri, what is it?"

Dimitri smirked. "I know what room the English man is staying in, Artem," he answered. "What would you like me to do?"

He could hear the smile in Artem's voice when he replied. "Do what you must to show him that he's not welcome here."

"_Spa'sibo._ Thank you, Artem," Dimitri said, an almost malicious glint in his eyes. "I know just what to do."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben stood on the top step that led up to the doors of the Romanov Palace, anxiously watching as tourists went inside while Riley and Clara waited at the bottom and tried to establish a secret handshake. But the treasure hunter couldn't joint them no matter how much he wanted to because his anxious mind was only on the task ahead as he watched for the people there were supposed to meet to arrive.

"Okay, I think that should be good," Riley muttered as they finished their handshake. "I like it."

"Me too!" Clara agreed enthusiastically with a smile. "No one else can know about it though."

"Of course not. That's the point of a secret handshake."

"Riley, this isn't your kid, is it? She's much too cute to be yours."

At the sound of the familiar taunting voice, Riley slowly turned around and found himself facing his older brother. "Shut up, Dustin, you bast-!" the techie began the insult, but someone beat him to it.

Powell's eyes narrowed as he hit Dustin upside the head. "You idiot. We're supposed to be working _with_ them, not antagonizing them!" he snapped.

Dustin spun around to argue with Powell, but Ian held him back. "Enough, both of you!" he said angrily. "Dustin, watch your temper and, Powell, stop aggravating him. My God, you're going to drive me mad!" Then, he turned back to the younger man with a sigh. "My apologies, Riley. But I am curious about who this child belongs to."

"Ben and Abi," Riley told him, displeasure showing through in his tone that they were there. "Clara's their daughter."

Ian looked surprised for a moment, but then he smiled slightly. "I didn't expect them to… Okay. But I suppose that we should get into the palace, huh?"

Riley nodded stiffly. "Yeah."

Clara looked up at the four men that had joined them curiously, unsure of why her uncle didn't like them. The man with dark hair that sort of resembled Riley was a jerk, but the other three didn't seem to be so bad… at least, from what she could tell. Then, she noticed that the younger man who had blond hair had a bag of M&Ms in his hand and was eating a couple. He soon saw that she was looking at him, and he smiled as he poured a few of the candy pieces into his hand and gave them to her. Clara returned the smile as she ate one, instantly growing a liking to this man.

Ian and Riley led the way up the stairs to the palace with Powell and Dustin right behind, Clara soon falling into place beside Nick. She smiled when she got a few more M&Ms from him.

Ben must have seen them coming because he was ready for them when they reached the top stair. "Ian," the treasure hunter muttered in greeting.

"Ben," Ian replied. "So, are you ready to try to find whatever we're looking for?"

"Yeah," Ben answered, his eyes running over the group to make sure everyone was accounted for. "Shall we?"

Ian nodded and walked past him into the palace with Powell and Dustin. Nick went shortly after, and Ben and Riley were surprised as they watched Clara follow him closely. The older man's expression then saddened when he saw how angry his best friend looked. "Riley, please…"

"No, Ben," Riley stopped him. "You don't have to explain anything to me. You've made your decision, and that's okay. But let's just say that I wasn't thinking there would be an Ian Howe action figure in the collection."

Ben sighed. "Riley…" But he was too late. The techie was already entering the palace after the others. The treasure hunter knew that his best friend was hurt that he was relying on Ian to help, but he wasn't sure how deep that wound went or how to make it heal. He wanted more than anything to make that pain go away, but he wasn't quite sure how to do it.

Finally, Ben sighed again. He would figure that out when the opportunity presented itself, but now he had to worry about what he had come to the Romanov Palace to do. He slowly went inside, but he didn't notice that Ivan was right behind him, smiling as he took out a small, metal box.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"So. _The cure is found within the crown of Anastasia._ Well, here are crowns," Ian muttered, looking at the jeweled collection in the display.

"I don't think it would be that easy, though," Ben countered from where he stood bedside the English man. "If it was, Artem would have found the cure already, and we wouldn't be here right now."

Ian shrugged. "True," he agreed. "But what else could it mean?"

Ben sighed. "I don't know yet," he told him truthfully. "That's what I was hoping you could help me with."

"I'll see what I can do."

Riley and Nick stood a little distance away from Ben and Ian, studying a large portrait of the Romanov family. "So, what exactly are we looking for?" the blond-haired man asked.

"I'm pretty sure that what we are looking for is the cure to this disease that Artem has," Riley answered, his eyes landing on the painted image of the youngest daughter in the royal family. "I know that Anastasia has something to do with it since that's what the clue said, I just don't know what."

"That could be difficult," Nick agreed. "The clue itself doesn't really make much sense since it's not as easy as it sounds."

Riley nodded, studying the image of Anastasia carefully. He looked at her crown for a long moment before his eyes traveled to her diamond earrings, to a heart-shaped locket hanging around her neck, and finally to the help of her dress. "I just don't know."

Powell stood looking at a map of Russian during the Romanov era that covered an entire wall of the palace with minimal interest. Clara stood beside him, but she got bored quickly. Her gaze began to move around the rest of the palace, and something soon caught her eye. On the far back wall of the first floor of the palace were the replicas of the outfits that had been worn by the royal family. Clara glanced up at Powell and then at the scattered members of their group to make sure that none of them were paying any attention to her, and she quickly ran to go look at the fancy clothing.

Dustin purposefully separated himself from the rest of the people with him, mindlessly wandering up the flight of stairs to the second floor balcony. He smirked as he watched Clara leave Powell's side and run away from everyone else to look at something on the other side of the palace. He hoped that someone was keeping an eye on her since Powell clearly wasn't doing a very good job.

But then, his eyes narrowed when he saw the gray-haired man with the blind eye from the museum break-in back in Washington, D.C. Did he know they were there? Dustin watched him carefully as he placed a small, metal box in the corner where Ben and Ian were and quickly walked away from it. Then, the older Poole's eyes widened in horror when he saw red numbers appear on it that flashed one minute and fifteen seconds, but began to decrease. He instantly knew what it was and knew that yes, Ivan knew they were there. Dustin then began to run down the stairs, hoping that he could reach Ben and Ian in time.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"_Zd'rravstvuite._ Hello, Gates."

Ben slowly turned around to look behind him when he heard the familiar Russian accent while Ian did the same beside him, and they both found themselves facing Ivan. When he saw that the had their attention, he smirked. "Welcome to Russia."

"What do you want?" Ben asked angrily.

Ivan's smirk widened at the question. "Oh, nothing much," he answered casually. "I just wanted to let you know that you had a little over forty-five seconds to get out of here."

Ian's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" he said suspiciously.

Before Ivan could say another word, Dustin suddenly pushed past him to stand in front of the English man. "Ian, there's a bomb! He planted a bomb!" he shouted, pointing to the corner behind them.

Ian quickly turned to follow his finger, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the small, metal box with the red numbers inching closer and closer to zero. It really was a bomb… "Get everyone out," he whispered to Ben as his anxiety rose. "Go! Hurry!"

Ben nodded, but he first turned to Ivan, who was still standing with them. "Why are you doing this?"

Ivan shrugged casually and smiled at the treasure hunter before he disappeared into the crowd. Dustin's eyes narrowed angrily, and he quickly went after him even though Ian tried but failed to hold him back. Ben then moved to the crowd and began to shepherd them out since they were panicking about the word "bomb," and Riley, Nick, and Powell soon ran over to him. "Ben, what's going on?" Riley asked anxiously.

"Ivan placed a bomb in here," Ben explained, having to raise his voice a little over the commotion. "We have less than thirty seconds to get out!"

Riley's eyes widened with horror as Powell and Nick exchanged nervous glances. Ian reached forward and grabbed on to his stepbrother's arm. "All right, Nick. Head out," he muttered to him, pushing him toward the door.

Suddenly, Riley gasped. "Ben, where's Clara?!"

Ben's heart almost stopped as he looked over the heads of the crowd quickly filing out of the palace doors as he searched anxiously for his daughter while Nick, Ian, and Riley also looked around. "Clara!" the treasure hunter shouted.

"Daddy!"

"I hear her…" Nick muttered, but he was unable to see her.

Then, Powell saw the eight-year-old's small form cowering near the back wall of the palace as the chaos raged around her. "I got her," he said, pushing his way through the people heading in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Riley protested, taking a step forward after him. But then he sighed in defeat since he had lost sight of the other man.

Clara watched the people running everywhere around her with fear, curling her legs under her arms in a way of protection. "Daddy!" she cried again, but she still saw no sight of Ben or even her Uncle Riley. She had loved coming to the palace, but now she wanted to leave since she didn't know what was happening.

Then, Clara screamed when she saw a big man with dark, curly hair running at her through the crowd of people. She soon recognized him to be the man called Powell by the blond man with the cool-sounding voice, but she still yelped in fear when he pulled her up by her arm and slung her effortlessly over his shoulder on to his back.

"Hold on tightly, kiddo," Powell advised, waiting until he felt Clara's small arms securely around his neck before running toward the palace doors where the group was still gathered. Clara closed her eyes tightly and laid her head against his back.

"Go! Go!" Powell shouted, wildly gesturing to the doors when Ian and the rest came into sight, seeing how little time they had by the flashing numbers on the bomb.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"_Tri._ Three…" Ivan muttered from a safe distance away from the palace as a familiar black car pulled to a stop behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian sensed the urgency and quickly pushed Nick out the door, allowing Ben room to force Riley out before running after them with the treasure hunter, Powell with Clara right behind.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"_Dva._ Two…"

xxxxxxxxxx

They all quickly made it down the stairs and began to run as fast as they could away from the palace, and they soon met up with Dustin. Powell pulled Clara off of his back and held her in his arms to protect her while Ben covered Riley and Ian did the same with Nick.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"_A'eedn._ One."

Xxxxxxxxxx

They felt the heat of the explosion the same time they heard it. Ian looked over his shoulder, watching as the flames consumed the corner of the building where the bomb had been, that part of it now destroyed. Riley, Nick, Powell, and Dustin stared at the building with fear as they tried to calm their breathing, knowing that they had almost not made it out. Ben shook his head as he stared at the flaming building in disbelief, knowing that a lot of history had been lost… knowing that a lot of people could have been hurt…

Clara looked out from behind Powell, her face instantly turning pale when she saw the effects of the explosion. Tears quickly began to fall from her eyes, and she started shaking from fear. Ben noticed this, and he gently picked up Clara from Powell and held her close to him, trying to comfort her.

Then, the treasure hunter's phone began to ring. Ben shifted Clara to one arm while he pulled his phone out of his pocket. His eyes narrowed angrily when he recognized the number and flipped the phone open. "You're sick, Artem!" he snapped. "You could have killed people back there!"

Ben's anger grew when he heard the Russian man laugh. "It's just our way of saying that we've already searched there and found nothing, and that you and your English friend Ian need to search somewhere else."

"What do you expect from us, Artem?" Ben demanded heatedly, feeling Clara cringe in his arms at his uncharacteristic ferocity. "We don't know what to do or where to start!"

"Just do what I say, Ben," Artem told him calmly. "Otherwise, you know what will happen." Then, he hung up.

Ben sighed angrily as he closed his phone and put it back in his pocket before pulling his daughter closer to him again as she continued to cry. "Shh. It's all right, Clara."

Ian watched them for a moment, and then looked behind him as the sound of sirens drew nearer. "We didn't do anything, but we still don't want to be here when the police show up," he muttered to them. "Come on. It would be best if we get out of here."

Xxxxxxxxxx

When the bus stopped at the street corner as evening approached, Ian, Nick, Powell, and Dustin were met with a frightening sight. Barricades were blocking off the road, and fire engines and police cars were there with officers and firefighters swarming everywhere. The four tried to move as close as the could to see what the commotion was, and they noticed that the hotel they had been staying in was also blocked off and thick, black smoke was coming out of one of the windows. As they moved even closer, they could tell exactly what the problem was.

"That's our room," Nick said nervously.

Ian sighed as he ran his hand through his blond hair. "This could be a problem," he muttered.

"Just a bit," Powell added, trying to lighten the mood.

Then, an idea came to Ian as he pulled out his cell phone, beginning to dial a familiar number.

**A/N**: Told you this chapter was long! Blah, my hands hurt from typing. But I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: Do I really have to do this anymore, guys? The characters don't belong to me, just the idea, Clara, Dustin, Artem, and the rest of his crazy people.

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! I had this chapter done for a while (before the 4th of July even), but I didn't have any time to upload it. But now I am, so it's all good. This chapter is going to have a lot of light-hearted stuff in it, one of the few times that remain in this story, so don't get too used to it. I did a lot of research for this chapter (if anything is wrong, blame the website that I got the info from!), and I hope that it'll give you a good "taste" of Russia lol! But there are also a lot of important things in it, so keep a sharp eye out for little clues. Thank you so much to **Spellinggirl**, **Receneck**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **fallen.leaves19**, **LoremIpsum**, **Miss Fenway**, **daisyduke80**, **broadwaylover07**, **myloveimfaithfullyyours**, **Halo**, **LupinandHarry**, and **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh** for your outstanding reviews and patience. So, without further ado, let's get on with the chapter, shall we?

Chapter 13

Ben unlocked the door of the hotel room and walked inside with Riley behind him, the younger man carrying a still shaken Clara. The treasure hunter opened the door to the bedroom, seeing that Abigail had closed the blinds and had fallen asleep. Ben smiled slightly as he closed the door again, turning around to face Riley. At least they still had a little time before they had to tell her that they almost got blown up.

"Abigail's sleeping," he quietly explained. "We'll have to stay out here for now."

"No prob," Riley replied. Then, he looked down on his niece. "Okay, Clara. Just sit down here for now, and I'll get you something that we packed for you, okay?"

Ben watched as Riley set Clara down on the couch and quietly entered the bedroom, returning shortly with something in his hand. The eight-year-old's eyes brightened when she saw it. "You brought it!" she said happily when she saw the DVD cover.

"Yep," Riley told her with a smile, turning on the television and hooking up the DVD player they had ordered from the lobby before putting the _Anastasia_ movie in and pushing play. "We thought of you while we were packing."

"Thank you so much, Uncle Riley!" Clara exclaimed when the movie began. "Thank you, Daddy!"

"Of course," Riley returned while Ben smiled. "I only want the best for my little bundle of joy."

Clara smiled at him, but she was soon entranced by the movie. Riley sat down in the chair beside Ben with a sigh, closing his eyes and laying his head back against the cushion. "You know, this is the second time since I've met you that I've almost gotten blown up and God knows how many times I've almost gotten killed?" he stated with a flat tone.

Ben smiled slightly. "Sorry to say it probably won't be the last, Riley," he muttered, knowing that his daughter was too caught up in the movie to pay any attention to them. "Especially while we're here in Russia."

Riley let out a short, half-hearted laugh, still not opening his eyes or looking at the older man. "Yeah, it's not every day that we're being threatened by a mad man that could easily kill us with some disease…"

"I just hope that you don't mind risking your life for me again, Riley, especially since Ian is here," Ben said quietly, his eyes turning sad once more as he looked at the younger man. "You've done so much for me, and I feel terrible that there isn't much I've done for you in return. I know that you don't like Ian being here, but we really could use his help with this, especially since the fate of the world is at stake. If Artem were to infect one person here, it wouldn't take long for it to spread through everyone in Russia and then to other countries through the water or exports. After we stop Artem, we probably won't see Ian and his guys again. So, what do you say? Do you forgive me for letting Ian help with this hunt?"

There was a long moment of silence that was only filled by the sounds of the movie, and then a small smile slowly appeared on Riley's face. "I suppose the Ian action figures _would_ be more popular than the Abigail ones," he relented.

Ben smiled with relief, knowing his best friend well enough to know that the comment meant that he forgave him. He knew that Riley would go to the ends of the earth for him, and he would risk it all in return, especially now that Riley was putting much more at risk for him than ever before…

But then, another though entered the treasure hunter's mind as he stared at the television screen, watching as the little Anastasia was roughly taken from her grandmother by the evil wizard Rasputin, which was very historically inaccurate. "You know the key to solving this clue, right Riley?" Ben suddenly asked quietly.

At the sudden question, Riley opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him. "Anastasia?" he answered in the form of a question, looking down at the cover of the DVD that was still in his hand.

Ben slowly shook his head, continuing to watch as Rasputin disappeared and Anastasia was left behind, knowing that she had lost her memory. "No, that's only part of it," he muttered thoughtfully. "There has to be something else, something we're missing…"

But before Riley or Ben could comment further, the older man's cell phone began to ring. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, and recognizing it to be Ian, he quickly answered it. "Yeah?"

"I'm afraid we have a bit of a problem, Ben," Ian said on the other end. "There was a fire in our hotel room earlier, and now we have nowhere to stay. Fortunately, we had everything that we brought with us to Russia when we met you at the palace, so…"

"Was it an accident?" Ben asked, ignoring Riley's questioning look. "I mean, was there anything in the room that could have started on fire?" The techie's eyes widened when he heard the dangerous, four-letter word.

"No. Nothing was plugged in or anything when we left," Ian answered.

Ben sighed. "So it was intentional." It wasn't a question. "Someone must have done it when you were with us."

"So it would seem," Ian muttered heavily. "I would bet anything that it was one of the men that work for Artem. The coward wouldn't do something like that himself."

"That would make sense," Ben agreed, glancing around the living area. "Well, if you don't mind sharing a couch and a couple of chairs among yourselves, you're welcome to stay with us." Riley looked confused again at the statement.

There was a minute of stunned silence on the other end, and then the treasure hunter could hear quiet conversing. "All right. We accept your offer, Ben, thank you," Ian finally announced.

"Well, it's not like you guys have anywhere else to go, and I can't just leave you out on the streets," Ben said, pushing himself to his feet. "My only conditions are that you don't take out your guns around my daughter and that you come in quietly because Abigail's sleeping." For a moment, he wondered how Ian, Powell, and Dustin at least had managed to bring their guns into the Romanov Palace since he knew them well enough to know that they always carried the weapon with them. But then, he realized that it was Ian Howe, and he knew that he would probably never know the answer. "I'll start walking toward your hotel."

"You know where it is?" Ian asked, not able to mask the surprise from his tone.

"I have a general idea," Ben answered, putting on his heavy coat. "You're somewhere at the other end of the street from us."

"Well, I guess I'll see you in a few minutes then," Ian muttered. "Thanks again, Ben."

"No problem," Ben replied. "See you in a few." Then, he hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket.

"What's going on, Ben?" Riley wondered, watching the older man walk to the door with confusion.

"There was a fire in Ian's hotel room, so they can't stay there anymore," Ben explained. "I'm going to go get them."

"They're staying with us?" The realization finally hit Riley.

"Yep," was all Ben said before shutting the door behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Abigail slowly opened her eyes to the sound of muffled voices. The door was closed so she couldn't tell who was talking or what was being said, but she knew that Ben, Riley, and Clara must have come back from the palace some time ago since the clock on the table beside her showed that it was a little after half past nine. She smiled to herself, slowly climbing out of the bed and opening the door.

"Ben, I-!" Abigail began, but her statement was interrupted by a soft gasp because of the sight that met her eyes.

Ian Howe was sitting in the chair beside Ben's, and they were both having a hot cup of coffee made by the coffee maker that they must have ordered from the lobby while they looked through some things on Riley's laptop. Riley himself was sitting on one extreme end of the couch, nearest Abigail, while Dustin sat on the other, both facing away from each other. Once in a while, one of the two Poole brothers would look over his shoulder and "grr" at the other before turning away again. Powell and Nick were sitting on the floor in front of the television with Clara while _Anastasia_ continued to play softly, smiling when the young girl knew all the words to the song that was being sung.

Riley was the first one to notice Abigail enter the room, seeing by her disheveled hair and lack of make-up that she had just gotten up. "Uh, Ben…" he muttered in warning, seeing the surprise on her face was quickly mingling with another, more dangerous emotion. Anger.

Ben looked up from the laptop screen, as did Ian, when they heard the techie. "Abigail," the treasure hunter said, getting to his feet and walking past Powell, Nick, and Clara to stand by his wife. "We didn't wake you, did we?"

"No," Abigail told him, shaking her head in disbelief. "But what is _Ian_… and… and… What are they doing with our daughter?!"

Riley and Ben both turned to look at where the eight-year-old sat, and they saw that Powell, Nick, and Clara now held cards in their hands. "It looks like they're playing Go-Fish," the techie observed. "Hey, I wanna' play too! I'm good at this game!" He then got up from the couch and sat down on the floor beside his niece, causing a look of frustration to cross Powell's face.

"Dang it, Riley! Now we have to start all over!"

"What if they start playing for money, Ben?" Abigail asked, angered to see that a small smile was on her husband's face when he turned back to look at her.

Ben's smile instantly disappeared and was replaced with a confused expression at his wife's question. "How can you play Go-Fish for money?" he wondered.

"If anyone would know how, _they_ would!" Abigail hissed in response. Ian laughed a little at the comment. He knew how true that statement actually was, but he also knew that they wouldn't pull something like that with the eight-year-old girl. She would probably beat them anyway.

"Abigail, don't worry," Ben assured her with a laugh. "I'm sure they're just playing a harmless game of Go-Fish."

"Ben. _What_ are they doing here?" Abigail asked fiercely.

The treasure hunter sighed. "There was a fire in their hotel room, so they're going to stay here for a couple of nights until they can find somewhere else to stay," Ben explained quietly. "Since they're helping us out, I thought-!"

"_Helping_ us?!" Abigail interrupted. "Ben, last time I checked, they were working _against_ us!"

Ben wasn't sure how to respond to this. His wife was correct, of course, but he knew Ian enough to know that the English man wouldn't turn on them now since people he cared about were in danger if Artem were to succeed. At least until the Russian man was stopped, he would not be facing the barrel of Ian's gun.

"Can we talk about this at a better time?" Ben asked quietly, his eyes darting to Clara. "I promise I will explain everything to you."

Abigail caught his silent message, but she still sighed as she looked away from the treasure hunter. "Sure, Ben," she answered in a mutter. "I'm going to go back to bed now, okay? I'll talk to you later." Before her husband could say anything more, she turned her back on him and disappeared into the dark room, shutting the door behind her.

"I'm sorry about that, Ian," Ben said, sitting back down in the chair beside him. "I don't think she'll be mad for _too_ long…"

Ian shrugged, feeling indifferent. "It's all right. I'm sure that it's a perfectly normal reaction," he replied off-handedly. "She'll have to get used to us being around just like we'll have to get used to you."

"That may be, but what do we do now?" Dustin asked from where he sat on the couch. "Artem didn't exactly leave us with any clear directions."

"That's easy, Dustin," Ian answered with a smile. "What better way to search for something than to explore the city itself?"

xxxxxxxxxx

"Okay. I promise you all now if we get something that's _still moving_, I'm going to make you all pay for my hospital bill," Riley threatened as he set the menu down. The group that now consisted of eight members was sitting at a table in one of the many restaurants that St. Petersburg had to offer, Ben and his family sitting on one side with Ian and his gang on the other.

The sleeping situation hadn't been exactly comfortable for anyone the previous night, with Nick and Ian each attempting to sleep on one half of the couch while Powell and Dustin sat curled up in the chairs in the living area of the hotel room. Clara had been the only one able to sleep through the entire night since Ben, Abigail, and Riley were worried about their new guests.

But that day was a new day, and they were going to start fresh with tired eyes and aching muscles. The group had already been to the Winter Palace the previous day, which was now under repair, and had seen sights such as the Issac Cathedral already that morning. After they finished with lunch, they would check out the Summer Gardens, though they were now covered with snow.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Riley," Ian said with a smile. "Viktor lived on this stuff while he was growing up, and he survived."

Riley rolled his eyes. "And look how _he_ turned out! The light's on but nobody's home," he replied. "Just keep my warning in mind, Ian, because you're the _first_ that's gonna be paying for my time in the hospital since you said that."

Ian laughed a little as he shook his head. "All right, Riley…"

Clara smiled to herself, looking down at the small digital camera that she held in her hands. She had noticed it on the man named Ian's belt, and she had borrowed it to take many pictures as they walked through the streets of St. Petersburg, mainly of the mountain range that loomed near them, the cathedrals and other beautiful buildings they had seen, and even the restaurant they had stopped in for lunch. The eight-year-old smiled, raising the camera to take a candid picture of the seven other members of their group.

Ian saw the flash out of the corner of his eye, and he quickly turned his head to look at Clara. "Hey, give me back my camera!" he snapped.

"Okay. Here," Clara replied, laughing a little as she handed the camera back to him.

"Oh my God…" Ian moaned, seeing that the girl had taken nearly forty pictures and that the battery was almost dead. He grumbled incoherently to himself as he put the camera away, knowing that he would have to change it and have a heck of a time deleting the pictures later. Clara laughed again.

Riley turned to Nick, who was watching his stepbrother with an almost sad expression on his face. "Ian's rather protective of that camera," he commented.

"Well…" Nick began, but before he could explain further, the waitress came with their appetizers. Powell and Ben had made the mistake of ordering the "appetizers of the day," which turned to be pickled mushrooms, _kapusta_-a kind of sauerkraut-, and eggplant _caviar_.

"Viktor used to live on _this_?" Powell asked in disbelief as he looked at the supposed food over the top of his English-Russian dictionary. "Poor kid…"

"Well, it shouldn't be too bad," Abigail tried to remain positive as she reached for the _kapusta_. "I like sauerkraut."

Ben agreed and even Powell soon concurred, so the three of them split the _kapusta_ between themselves and found it rather good. Ian, who had tried many different and interesting foods growing up in England and on his many trips to different countries such as France, bravely attempted the eggplant _caviar_. He soon found that it wasn't too bad, especially if a little salt was added. Nick, seeing that his stepbrother didn't keel over from eating it, decided to try it too. He also found that it wasn't as horrible as it sounded, though he found it to be an acquired taste. Clara didn't try either the _kapusta_ or the _caviar_, much preferring the appetizers back at home such as French fries and mozzarella sticks.

Which left the pickled mushrooms. "I dare you to try it," Dustin suddenly said, his eyes flaring mischievously as he looked at his younger brother.

Riley met his gaze. "I dare _you_ to try it," he countered. "I will if you will."

Dustin smirked as he delicately picked one up while Riley did the same. "On the count of three," the older Poole muttered. "One… two… three!"

Both brothers moved the food toward their mouths, but only Riley actually put it in. "Works every time, little brother!" Dustin crowed triumphantly while the techie forced himself to swallow the offending food before frantically searching for something to drink to get the taste out. After Dustin and Riley's dares and seeing the younger Poole's reaction, no one else dared to touch the pickled mushrooms.

Drinks soon came, much to Riley's relief, and he drank about one-third of his apple and pear _compote_ as soon as the waitress placed it in his hands. Abigail was slowly drinking her Russian green tea and Nick did the same with his Russian orange-spiced tea, and they watched as Ben cautiously took a sip of his ancient cherry honey and found it delicious. Three of them ordered something with alcohol in it, Ian with apple cider, Powell with black Russian _classique_, and Dustin with cherry _nalivka_. Clara got a simple cherry-lemon drink, and Ben smiled with amusement when the waitress even brought her a bendy straw.

Then, when the remains of the appetizers were removed, their meal soon replaced it. The majority of the group had ordered an extra large order of Russian roast that they could split, except for Clara. She wasn't that big of a meat person, so Ben ordered her some _Kazakh_ noodles with minimal lamb, red pepper, and garlic in it since she loved pasta. These food choices seemed safe enough, since some other items on the menu were such things like roasted lamb leg with artichokes. The roast turned out to be delicious, and even with the seven of them, they couldn't finish the entire thing, especially since each person received a bowl of cabbage soup and a side of _palmeni_, a kind of dumpling. But, they could put the leftovers in the mini refrigerator back at the hotel room along with the remains of Clara's noodles to heat up for lunch the next day.

The dessert they ordered was orange teacake cookies, which were to be saved and snacked on during the remainder of their outing. Nick also bought some _chuchkella_, a type of grape-and-walnut candy, for himself that he knew he would end up sharing with Clara later since she kept looking at them as though she wanted one.

"So, now that we're full and don't have to bring Riley to the nearest hospital this time, what should we do next?" Ian wondered, finishing the last bit of his drink.

"I don't know. Head to the Summer Gardens?" Ben answered with a shrug. "We've barely covered anything so far, and we have the whole day ahead of us. I'll take a look at the map again once we're outside."

"Well, let's get going then," Abigail said from beside her husband. "I'm anxious to see more of the city."

After they each contributed to the tip except for Clara, the group got to their feet and started putting on their coats. But then, Ben's cell phone suddenly rang. The treasure hunter reached into his pocket and pulled it out, and he knew as soon as he saw the number that their casual day in St. Petersburg was about to come to an abrupt end.

**A/N**: That turned out to be pretty long! Didn't feel that long when I looked it over… But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the more light-hearted chapter. Again, it's the one of the last you'll see for a while, and you got a somewhat better look at Russian culture. Hungry, anyone? Lol. But there are some important clues hidden in this chapter as well that I hope you can catch on to. And the inspiration for the Go-Fish part of the chapter came from **Halo's** story "A Day in the Life of Ian's Henchmen." I highly recommend it! It's very well written and will give you a good laugh. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer**: Nothing is mine, you guys. If it were, well, I'd be freaking out because Ian is now staying with us (and that is incredibly cool!!) and probably picking fights with Dustin with Riley because it would be fun!

**A/N**: Sorry for the longish wait, guys. I wanted to make sure that this chapter flowed nicely and that Shaw was in character since I haven't written with him yet. Yes, he's in this chapter because of a nice, long flashback sequence. Make sure you pay attention to it! It is very important. But anyway, some new news from me is that I've finally joined with the majority of my friends and began playing Guitar Hero. Though I'm only still on "easy," it is a _lot_ of fun! I love it! I have to play on my friends' houses because I don't own the game myself… yet. But, thank you so much to **LupinandHarry**, **Miss Fenway**, **daisyduke80**, **Spellinggirl**, **Halo**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **myloveimfaithfullyyours**, **unorthxodox yo-yo** (for an earlier chapter), **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **broadwaylover07**, and **Lorem Ipsum** for your wonderful reviews! Special thanks to **Halo** for all of her help with this chapter, especially with the development of Shaw. Thank you so much! This chapter isn't as lighthearted as the last, but I hope you all still enjoy it!

Chapter 14

"What do you want, Artem?" Ben asked sharply after he flipped the phone open and brought it to his ear. The rest of the members of the group looked at the treasure hunter carefully, knowing that whatever the Russian man had to say wasn't good. Clara, who remembered how angry her father had gotten the last time he had spoken to the man with the weird name, grabbed on to Riley and Nick's hands fearfully since they stood on either side of her.

"I was just hoping that you enjoyed taking a look at my beautiful city," Artem answered casually.

Ben's jaw set. "Yes, we have."

"Good," Artem said. "But I need you to pick up the pace on solving that clue, Gates. If you don't, I may have to set a time limit on how long you have to do it."

"No, please don't do that," Ben protested, his nerves entering his tone. "I promise you, we're trying our hardest."

Artem laughed on the other end. "Of course you are. That's why this is so fun," he replied. "But keep in mind, Gates, the game can only have one winner."

Anger rose within Ben at the statement. "Do you think this is a game?" he snapped. "People's lives are at stake!"

"But of course," Artem told him. "Solving this clue shouldn't be so hard for you, though, Gates, especially since you have your intelligent friend, Mr. Howe, helping you now. Tell him I hope that he doesn't mind too much about what happened to his hotel room. It brought you two closer so it'd be easier to work together, didn't it?"

Ben glared at Ian, watching as his eyes narrowed slightly. "We're trying our best to solve it, Artem."

"You had better be, Gates, or else there will be a time limit before the disease is released," Artem threatened. "I will call soon to check on you. But for starters, why don't you try looking at the city at night? It'll give you a new perspective. Until then, _dosvi'daniya_. Goodbye." Then, he hung up.

"I take it that it wasn't good news from our Russian friend?" Riley asked once the treasure hunger flipped his phone closed and put it back in his pocket. "Did I ever tell you that he reminds me of that one song called _Psycho_? You know which one I'm talking about, don't you? The one that goes, 'maybe I'm the one who is the schizophrenic psycho?' You should so make that his ringtone! It fits him perfectly."

"Artem's getting impatient," Ben addressed the entire group, trying to ignore Riley's comment. "He said that if we don't find something soon, he's going to set a tie limit on how long we have to find it." He hoped that the people with him would catch his silent message so he wouldn't have to talk about the disease in front of his daughter.

"But what is there _to_ find?" Ian wondered. "It's clear that they've searched all of St. Petersburg, or at least most of it, already and haven't found anything. What do they expect us to find?"

Ben slowly shook his head. "I don't know, Ian," he muttered, his tone laced heavily with defeat. "I just don't know. But we need a different perspective."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Are you all right, Ian?" Nick asked with worry through the bathroom door."

"Yeah…"

The group of eight had spent the rest of the afternoon exploring St. Petersburg, arriving back at the hotel around ten at night. Clara had gone straight to bed, exhausted, and Ian had suddenly turned pale and had rushed to the bathroom. From the long time that he had spent inside, everyone knew that he must not have been feeling too well.

Powell soon joined Nick at the door, looking worried as well. "How is he?" he said.

Nick shrugged. "He doesn't sound too good," he muttered. "I have the feeling that he's not going to go with us tonight." Ben had decided that even though they probably weren't going to find anything, they should take Artem's advice and take a look at the city at night. If anything, there would be less people that could get in their way.

They were both relieved when they heard the sounds of the toilet flushing quickly followed by running water, but the worry came back when the bathroom door opened and Ian still looked pale. "Must have been something I ate," the English man stated as he walked past them.

"I don't think you should go with us tonight, Ian," Powell told him, seeing that he still appeared weak.

"Oh, don't worry, Powell," Ian replied with a small smile. "I have not intention of running all over St. Petersburg tonight."

Powell nodded in approval. "Well, that's a good decision. In that case, make sure you get plenty of rest and drink lots of liquids."

Ian noticeably rolled his eyes with annoyance. "Yes, _Dad_."

The three men then entered the living area of the hotel room, seeing that everyone was ready to leave and Abigail was saying goodbye. "Be careful, Ben," she muttered, giving him a hug.

"I will," Ben replied, kissing her on top of the head. "Don't worry." Then, his eyes narrowed as he watched Ian collapse on to the couch. "You're not coming?"

"I don't think so, Ben," Ian muttered, laughing a little at how obvious his answer was as he situated a pillow under his head. "Unless you want me to slow you guys down by… well, you can guess…"

Ben sighed, slowly turning to look back at his wife. "Abigail, since Ian's not coming, I need you to come with me." He wasn't too comfortable leaving her alone with Ian yet.

"What?!" Abigail snapped angrily. "Ben, I can't leave him here with our daughter!"

Ian laughed. "If by some stretch I wanted to harm her, what could I do in my state, Abigail?" he asked. Abigail glared at him.

"Besides," Ben added, trying to bring her attention back to him, "I really need you to help us figure things out. You're very intelligent, and you'd be crucial to our effort. Nothing's going to happen here while we're gone."

Abigail looked at him for a long moment, and then a smile appeared on her face. "Well, since you put it _that_ way…" she muttered. "All right." Ben breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it…" Riley began to mutter as a joke.

"Not now, Riley," Ben advised, making Riley stick out his tongue at him. "I think we should divide into pairs so we can cover more ground. Abigail, will you come with me?"

"Yes," Abigail replied, smiling at her husband.

Ben returned it before continuing with the group divisions. "Riley, how about you go with Nick?" The treasure hunter didn't want his best friend to be alone with Dustin if at all possible. Powell wouldn't have been such a bad choice either, but he knew that Nick was a friend to Riley. Riley nodded as Nick gave him a small smile.

"And that leaves Powell and Dustin."

Powell and Dustin looked at each other, and Ben could see that neither one was thrilled about going with the other. But then, the older man grinned. "Ready to go, Sunshine?" he asked.

Dustin glared back at him. "Call me that one more time, and I'll…" His threat faded off when he and Powell left the hotel room to go wait in the lobby. It must not have been too serious because they could hear Powell laugh.

Abigail slowly turned to look at Ian and cautiously approached him. "Ian, if anything goes wrong or you need something with Clara, call me, okay?" she told him. "Call me for _anything_."

"Yeah, no problem. I have Ben's number," Ian replied. "But what if something happens to me?"

"Just call Powell."

Ian frowned a little. "Thanks, Abigail…"

"All right. Let's get going," Ben said, attempting to break up the discussion so they could get back to the hotel sooner from wandering the city at night. "Thanks, Ian. We'll hopefully be back soon."

"Not a problem."

Ben then led Abigail out of the room, the blonde looking back at the English man and giving him a warning look. Riley began to follow after them, but stopped when he noticed that Nick wasn't coming with him. The other man was studying his older stepbrother carefully, and when Ian gave him a nod to assure him that he would be all right, he slowly began to head for the door. But before they left and shut the door, Riley noticed Ian taking his camera out of his pocket."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"So, why is that camera so important to Ian?" Riley asked once he and Nick were separated from the rest of the group. "He pretty much snapped at my niece over it."

Nick slowly came to a stop and turned to face Riley. "That camera was a gift from Shaw for Christmas the year before they came to help Ben with his hunt for the Templar Treasure," he explained. "Ian is so protective of it because… well, because it was the last thing that Shaw ever gave him."

Riley wasn't quite sure what to say. He knew that they had been close since Shaw had been Ian's second-in-command and that Ian had been deeply affected by Shaw's untimely death, but what was he supposed to say in response to hearing about the last gift that Shaw had ever given him? He slowly nodded, and then he laughed a little. "I knew they were friends, but Shaw is still a person I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley."

"I know what you mean," Nick agreed with a slight laugh of his own. "He scared me too. I _used_ to think that way, until I actually _did_ meet him in a dark alley."

"You did?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't exactly aware of the whole thing, but I _do_ know that I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him," he told him. "I'll go off of what Ian and Shaw told me about that night. Ian had left the night before for France for some business, though he had said he wouldn't do that again, leaving Shaw and I home by ourselves…"

_"You're broken, so am I_

_I'm better off alone_

_No one to turn to_

_And nothing to call my own."_

_Shaw walked down the dark sidewalk, putting his gun back on his belt as he approached the house he shared with his best friend and his best friend's younger stepbrother. Though he was only a teenager, Shaw wasn't concerned about Nick when he and Ian weren't home. Nick left the house every once in a while, and he himself was gone all the time, and he knew that the kid would be waiting for him as soon as he walked in the door._

_After entering the house and hanging up his coat, Shaw did a quick sweep of the house and saw that Nick was nowhere to be seen. The only sounds that could be heard were his own footsteps and the music playing from the kitchen radio. But Nick always turned off the radio before he left the house…_

"_My blood is cold as ice_

_Or so I have been told_

_Show no emotion_

_And it could destroy your soul."_

_The clock read that it was eleven, which made Shaw only slightly anxious as he collapsed into a chair in the living room. The kid was always home before he was, even when he left after dark. This was a bit unusual, but he knew that it wasn't a big deal and that Nick would probably be home soon._

"_You're angered, so am I_

_A thousand fires burn_

_A land of darkness_

_From which I cannot return."_

_Shaw suddenly stood up and rushed into the kitchen, turning off the radio. He normally didn't mind Nick's taste in music, but that particular song was beginning to get to him as his mind dwelled on what was happening. No, Nick was going to be back soon, and he was in such a hurry to get wherever he was going that he forgot to turn off the radio._

_But what if he only thought that he was going to be back soon, which was why he didn't turn off the radio, but he was somehow unable to return? Shaw sighed as he walked back into the living room and fell back into the chair with a sigh. What was coming over him? Why was he suddenly so concerned about Nick, thinking that something was wrong with him, when the kid was most likely going to be home at any minute? He wasn't used to the feeling that had formed in his stomach, and he didn't like it at all. It was unnatural for him to feel this protective about another person other than Ian, and it had taken him years to reach that feeling toward his best friend. Shaw then silently cursed Ian since the English man couldn't hear him, blaming him for passing the protective feeling toward Nick to him while he was gone. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, making sure that his gun was ready and loaded before he opened the door and stepped out into the cool night._

_But where to go from there? Shaw had no idea what Nick did when he ran off. He could have been anywhere._

_Then, he heard the sound of a muffled cry of pain. Shaw's eyes narrowed as he ran away from the house toward the alley that lay at the end of the street, the sounds getting louder as he got nearer. He instinctively placed his hand on his gun as he stopped at the gaping mouth and glanced inside._

_At first glance, it appeared that three men were beating a fourth- a typical mugging. He wasn't going to get involved with that._

_But then, he saw familiar blond hair on the head of whoever was being beaten, and he suddenly recognized the cry coming from him._

_It was Nick._

_Shaw instantly pulled out his gun and ran into the alley, firing the metallic weapon in the general direction of the three men hurting his best friend's stepbrother to try and scare them. They jumped and turned to look at him, horror appearing on their faces when they saw him running toward them with the gun. A grim smile of satisfaction appeared on Shaw's face when they ran, leaving Nick behind, bleeding and lying on the sidewalk._

_For one horrified moment, the thought that Nick had died under his watch crossed Shaw's mind. Ian would kill him. Hoping and praying to the deity he hoped was there that the worst hadn't happened, Shaw rushed forward and knelt down at Nick's side. He ran his hand over his blond head, now damp with sweat and blood, trying to get a reaction from the seemingly lifeless teenager._

_Then, Shaw let out the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding when Nick moved his head slightly and whimpered a little when he felt his hand, and his eyes slowly fluttered open. He slowly smiled down on him when the kid's voids appeared to register who he was seeing. "Hey there, Chipmunk." His face was somewhat swollen, which is why he addressed him in that manner._

"… _Don't call me that…" Nick mumbled, his words slurred as his eyes began to close again and tried to ignore the dreaded nickname._

"_Come on. Don't fall asleep on me," Shaw said, reaching forward and putting Nick's arm around his neck and pulled the teenager to his feet. "Let's get you home."_

_Nick whimpered as his aching body protested to the movements, but the older man didn't react compassionately to it. "Suck it up, kid."_

_Shaw soon reached the house with Nick slightly walking beside him, having to slowly climb the steps so he wouldn't hurt Nick too much. As he paused to unlock the door, Nick's strength completely left him, and he had to lean entirely on Shaw for support. He practically had to drag the teenager into the living room and gently lay him on the couch before he went into the kitchen and grabbed a chair. There was no way that he was going to drag him all the way up the stairs to his room- the couch would have to do. He then brought the chair into the living room and placed it beside the couch, sitting down in it to examine Nick's injuries._

_Knowing a lot about injuries from street fights he had seen or been a part of, Shaw knew that he would be a good judge to determine Nick's state. After a quick look, he knew that the kid would live, but it would be a painful recovery process. Nothing that some Vicodin and rest wouldn't take care of. But he had to clean him up somewhat before Ian got home. He looked terrible. But at least he wouldn't have to bring him to a hospital…_

_He got up and went into the kitchen again, filling a bowl of water and grabbing a rag from the cabinet before digging around for the bottle of medicine that was left over from when Nick had his wisdom teeth pulled and some rubbing alcohol. When he had everything, Shaw returned to the living room to take care of the ailing teenager._

_Nick slowly opened his eyes when he felt the warm, wet cloth press against a deep cut on his cheek, surprised to see that Shaw was the one that was caring for him. But at that moment, he suddenly wanted Ian more than he ever had before, even though he didn't want him to know what had happened to him._

"… _Shaw, please don't tell Ian what happened…" Nick begged._

_Shaw blinked with surprise. "Kid, I think he'll notice. You look like you got run over by a train or something," he replied. "What do you want me to tell him?"_

"… _That I got run over by a train…?"_

"_Nice try, but no," Shaw told him with a slight smile forming at the corner of his mouth as he moved on to another one of his injuries. "Ian will want to know what happened. What was it anyway? Did you steal some guy's girlfriend?"_

_Nick opened his mouth to protest, but then he winced when Shaw applied some rubbing alcohol to his cuts. It would hurt and Shaw knew it, but he also knew that the burning was a sign that it was fighting possible infections._

"_No, Nick. Don't fall asleep yet," Shaw suddenly said when he saw his eyes beginning to close. "You have to take your Vicodin yet. _Then_ you'll sleep like a baby."_

_The teenager tried to smile a little, but then he involuntarily let out a pained whimper when a sharp pain shot through his entire body. "… Make it stop…" he muttered pitifully._

_Shaw sighed. "It'll stop. It always does," he promised. "Now take some Vicodin. That'll help with the pain." He could see that Nick didn't want to tell him what had happened or why, and he wasn't going to question him since he wasn't going to talk. It wouldn't do any good._

_But Shaw was still confused about why Nick had been a target. He was a good kid and didn't go around making enemies or picking fights with random people, never getting involved in anything that he or Ian did. But then, Shaw realized with anger that it could have had something to do with two people that weren't so good and had a lot of enemies, one of which liked to pick fights with people, and Nick had been chosen as a way to get to them…_

_Nick slowly nodded, taking the medicine that the older man offered him. He shifted carefully into a more comfortable position, and then his eyes slowly closed as he fell into a restless sleep, knowing that Shaw was going to be watching over the wrong person._

_Xxxxxxxxxx_

_Ian quietly opened the door after he unlocked it, hoping that he wouldn't wake the other occupants of the house. He slipped off his shoes and hung up his coat before entering the dimly lit living room, stopping in surprise at what he saw._

_Shaw was sitting on one of the chairs from the kitchen beside the couch, casually polishing his gun. Nick was lying asleep on the couch, and upon closer inspection, appeared as though he had been in an accident. "What did you _do_?!" he asked in horror, looking at his best friend._

_At the sound of the sudden loud question, Shaw looked up from his now perfectly polished weapon. "I didn't do it this time, Ian, I swear!" he protested in his defense._

"_Well, what happened then?" Ian approached the couch where his stepbrother was lying, worry flaring in his eyes._

_Shaw set the gun down on the table, placing his hand on Nick's shoulder. Subconsciously, the teenager's body tensed as he tried to move away from him. "He got run over by a train." When he saw Ian's expression of disbelief, he decided to tell him the truth. "I found him in an alley being beaten by three guys," he explained. "If I see them again, the next bullet won't be aimed in their general direction."_

"_So that's why the gun is out?" Ian wondered, catching his best friend's treat. "You think they'll come back?"_

"_It's a possibility," Shaw replied gravely. "Ian, though I didn't hear much of what those guys were saying, and Nick didn't tell me anything, I have the feeling that there was something behind what happened to him. I could tell by his eyes that they said something to him that bothered him, and I think that they were most likely trying to get to us through him. It wasn't random."_

_Ian's eyes darkened. "Did you recognize them?" he pressed angrily._

_Shaw shook his head. "No, but we have a lot of enemies, Ian. Most of them could probably pay people to come after us."_

"_True. I'm just angry that they had to go after Nick instead of being brave enough to come for us." Ian's gaze softened as it landed on his stepbrother. "I'm gone for _one_ day, and look what happens. What would you ever do without me?"_

"_I don't know."_

"… _Ian…"_

_The English man was surprised to suddenly hear the quiet sound of his name, and he saw that Nick was calling out for him in his sleep. Ian knelt down beside the couch and placed his hand gently on top of Nick's head, and he subconsciously moved toward him. "I'm here, Nick," he told him quietly. "Rest easy. I'm here."_

"_Well, since you're here now, I'm going to bed," Shaw suddenly stated from behind him, getting to his feet as he put his gun back in its proper place on his belt. "It's your turn to watch the kid."_

"_All right. Thanks for your help, Shaw," Ian told him, watching as his best friend disappeared up the stairs to his room. He then sat down on the chair that Shaw had previously occupied, his eyes only on Nick. This was going to be a _long_ night._

_Xxxxxxxxxx_

"… _Shaw…"_

_Ian blinked, surprised by the sudden quiet sound of Nick's voice. He must have been dozing off, and his stepbrother must have been just starting to wake up because the pain medicine was beginning to wear off. Shaw was the last one who had been there, so this was going to be a surprise for Nick. "Well, Shaw's not here right now, but I could go get him if you wanted," he told him teasingly. "He's sleeping, so I think he'll be pretty mad if I woke him up."_

_Nick gasped quietly when he heard the different voice, and he quickly turned his head to look at who was now sitting beside him. "Ian, you're back! I think I would rather have you here with me, though…"_

"_Yes, Nick," Ian replied with a smile. He looked as though he had never been happier to see him in his life. "How are you feeling?"_

"_Horrible," Nick muttered. "I feel like I've been run over by-!"  
_

"_A train," Ian finished with a slight laugh. "Shaw told me. But I do know what really happened, just to let you know."_

_Nick looked disappointed, maybe even embarrassed, by the fact that he really knew what had happened. Ian's eyes softened with sympathy when he recognized the expression. "It's not your fault, Nick. They were probably after Shaw and I. I'm so sorry that you had to endure the pain that was the cause of our actions. It isn't right."_

"_They told me that they were after you," Nick muttered, saying just what Ian and Shaw had figured. But Ian knew his younger stepbrother well enough to know that there was something that he was leaving out, but he decided not to push him because he knew that Nick wouldn't tell him no matter what he did if he didn't want to tell him._

_He just hoped that Nick would tell him eventually._

"_Well, get some sleep, Nick," Ian finally muttered, ruffling his hair playfully but gently. "You're safe now. Shaw has his gun. They won't be coming back."_

_Nick smiled slightly, knowing that he would be safe. But he was still concerned about the man sitting beside him because of what the men had said to him…_

_Ian watched as Nick fought the lull of sleep for a short while, but it turned out to be a losing battle when his eyes finally closed in exhaustion. At least he appeared more peaceful now than when he had first gotten home. But his stepbrother had been hurt because of him, and he silently vowed that he would never let it happen again._

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Wow," Riley muttered, looking at Nick with a sense of admiration. "I guess Shaw wasn't _as_ bad as he seemed. But he was still scary."

"That he was," Nick agreed with a laugh as they began walking down the dark street again, keeping an eye out for anything that could give them a clue. "But he _did_ save my life."

Riley nodded, taking a deep breath. "How did you end up living with Shaw and Ian anyway?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't being too personal."

Nick sighed. "Well, as you know, my mom married Ian's dad, but I never really got along with him," he answered. "When I was a teenager, Ian was preparing to leave for the States with Shaw. But then, my mom died, and I ran away from the house because I didn't want to live with his dad. Ian found out, and he agreed to stay in England for a few more years with me. Shaw stayed too, and that's how we ended up living together for a while. Then, I went to the States with them, and we went our separate ways. You know the rest."

"You know, Nick, we have a lot in common," Riley muttered thoughtfully. "I mean, you remember when _my_ mom died. You have Ian to look to when you need someone, and I have Ben- two people who have become our brothers even though we aren't related by blood."

"That's true. You know, I'm really glad that I have you as a friend still, Riley," Nick admitted. "It's beginning to feel like old times again."

Riley smiled, but then his eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no. I was so curious about that camera that I forgot to bring my laptop." He turned to look behind him. "The hotel's not _too_ far away. Do you mind if I got back and get it? We could probably use it."

"No, go ahead," Nick replied. "I'll be right here."

"Thanks. Be back in a minute."

Nick sighed, watching as Riley ran back in the direction of the hotel, hoping that he would be back as soon as he claimed. There was something strange about being out on the foreign streets alone at night, and he had the strange feeling that he was being watched.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ivan watched as Riley left the blond-haired man, quickly taking out his cell phone and dialing a number. "Artem, Gates' best friend is heading back to the hotel," he replied. "Your cousin had best be in position."

"Oh, don't worry," Artem assured him over the phone. "My cousin will be in position and will know _exactly_ what to do regarding Mr. Poole."

**A/N**: That's it for this one! Wow, that was long. FYI, the songs I used were "Haunted" by Disturbed and "Psycho" by Puddle of Mudd. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading. Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer**: Again, if I owned them, I would be picking fights with Dustin, challenging Ben at history, and joking around with Riley and Powell. Since I'm doing none of those things, they aren't mine.

**A/N**: Hey! I'm back with another quick update! Surprised you, huh? Actually, I've had this done since my update yesterday, but I was planning on making it into a longer chapter. Since it had gotten _too_ long, I decided to break it up into two smaller chapters, so this is ready for update! I also forgot to mention that the "chipmunk" and "wisdom teeth" mentions were from another story by **Halo** called "Hey Chipmunk!" and I have to thank her for letting me use those references in this story. And I hope you all paid attention to the Shaw flashback in the last chapter- it's going to be _very_ important. Thank you so much to **Spellinggirl**, **daisyduke80**, **Thuraya Known**, **broadwaylover07**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, and **LoremIpsum** for your quick reviews. If you haven't reviewed the previous chapter yet, don't hesitate to lol! But for now, enjoy this chapter! Oh, and remember when I mentioned that I was going to be showing the other side of Ian in this story? Well, here we go!

Chapter 15

Delete… Delete… Delete… Delete… Delete…

Ian sighed as he moved through the pictures that Clara had taken over the course of the day. Some were actually pretty good for being taken by an eight-year-old, but the majority of them were blurry, had a weird angle, or had part of her finger in the shot. Now, after charging the battery for the better part of an hour, he was about halfway through deleting the pictures that Clara had taken.

The room around him was dark, lit only by the minimal but bright light coming from the camera screen. Ian didn't really mind, especially since Clara was sleeping in the other room, but he was beginning to feel a little drowsy. Being sick earlier had taken most of his strength.

Suddenly, Ian stared at the picture on the camera that he was about to delete. It was one of the better quality ones that Clara must have stopped to take since it wasn't blurry and her finger wasn't over it at all. It was a picture of the mountain range that loomed over St. Petersburg like a lot of them had been, but this one was at a slightly different angle.

At first he thought it was his imagination from being tired, but the longer he looked at the mountains, the more he knew that it wasn't a trick of his mind.

It looked exactly like a crown.

The cure is found within the crown of Anastasia…

Ian gasped quietly as he looked up from the camera screen at the dark room around him. "That's it," he whispered with a slight laugh. "That's it…" He then took out his cell phone, beginning to dial Ben's number.

"Mommy?"

The English man froze when he heard the quiet, unsure voice. He hadn't even heard the door open that separated the living area from the bedroom, and yet a half-asleep Clara was up and asking for Abigail. And she sounded scared. Ian carefully closed his cell phone as quietly as possible, hoping not to scare her further.

"Daddy?"

Great. Ben wasn't there either. What was he supposed to do? Ian held his breath, just waiting to be discovered.

"Uncle Riley?"

Ian knew that he was the last person that she expected, and most likely wanted, to see, and he thought that it would be best to let her know that he was there. "They'll be back soon, luv," he muttered gently, his eyes carefully on where he thought she would be.

He heard a quiet gasp from Clara, and he was able to feel her terrified eyes on him. "Could you please turn on the light?" she asked quietly.

It was a simple enough request. Ian carefully slid off the couch, his cramped muscles protesting to his movements from staying in one place for too long, and he used the light coming from the camera to find his way to the light switch. He quickly found it and turned it on, and he looked back at Clara when his eyes had adjusted to the new light. She was still blinking because of the sudden brightness, but Ian saw that her face was pale and there were remains of tears lingering on her cheeks.

"Where's Mommy?"

"She's with your dad and Uncle Riley," Ian told her, beginning to feel nervous around the child.

"Where are they?" Clara continued to press.

Ian didn't know what to say to that. "They're checking out some things around the city," he finally settled on explaining. "As I said, they'll be back soon."

Clara's eyes suddenly flickered with fear. "Are they meeting with that man?" she whispered.

"What man?" Ian wondered with confusion.

"The man with the weird name that makes Daddy mad."

Ian finally understood who she was talking about. "Artem? No, they're not meeting with him tonight," he assured her. At least, he hoped not. He knew that he would be angry if they were since he wanted to be there the next time they saw Artem.

The English man then noticed that Clara was standing in the doorway uncomfortably, looking down at the floor. "What's wrong?" he ventured to ask quietly after a minute.

Clara slowly raised her gaze to his, more tears appearing in her eyes. "I had a nightmare," she answered just as quietly.

Ian studied her for a long moment. He had taken care of Nick for years, and he had been there after every nightmare that his stepbrother had had. He remembered one in particular, one that still haunted him as much as when Nick had told him about it. It had been one of those falling dreams, the one where it abruptly ends before the person having it hits the ground. But instead of Nick seeing himself falling, he realized right before the end that it was _Shaw_ that he had seen falling. And a couple of years later, Shaw _had_ fallen, never to be seen again. His best friend's death was an event that also haunted his own dreams ever since.

He had been there and cared for Nick after all of his nightmares, and Ian knew that he could do the same for Clara this one time.

"Why don't you tell me about your nightmare?" Ian suggested as he sat back down on the couch, gesturing for Clara to sit beside him. "It'll make you feel better."

Clara looked up at Ian for a hesitant minute, and remembering that this was one of the men that her dad seemed to get along with, she slowly approached the couch and sat down beside him. Ian smiled down on the terrified girl, hoping that he would somehow be able to comfort her.

"We were in the Winter Palace again," the eight-year-old began in a mutter, wringing her hands nervously as she looked down at them. "This man with long gray hair and a blind eye placed a bomb inside, and everyone was being evacuated.

"But Uncle Riley and… you were unable to get out for some reason, and you were trapped inside." Clara paused for a minute, and Ian tensed slightly. "Daddy and your brother realized what was happening, and they tried to get back to you. But Nick was held back by… Powell, I think it was, and so was Daddy. Then… then…

"The palace exploded with you and Uncle Riley still inside," Clara concluded, fresh tears falling from her eyes. "It was terrible…"

Ian sighed heavily and hesitantly placed his arm around Clara. What else was he supposed to do? She tensed for a minute, but then she relaxed again. "Everyone has nightmares sometimes, Clara," he said, attempting to calm her down. "You seem to be getting along well with Nick. Did you know that he used to get scared a lot when he was your age? Even I still have nightmares sometimes."

Clara looked up at him. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes, really," Ian answered with a slight smile. "They are terrible to have."

There were a few moments of silence between them. Then, Clara looked up at Ian again. "I'm scared about Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Riley," she muttered.

"I'm sure they're fine, Clara." Ian didn't know what else to say, especially since he wasn't sure what was going on himself. Then, another small smile appeared on his face. "Come here for a minute, Clara."

The English man stood up and Clara followed, grabbing a hold of his hand and not noticing him slightly cringe as he led her into the bedroom. He stopped by the window, gingerly picking up the young girl so she could clearly see what he was talking about. Even being near the child without anyone else there was still well outside of his comfort zone. "Do you see the moon, Clara?" he asked.

Clara nodded. "Yeah. It's full," she answered.

Ian laughed a little despite himself. "Yes, that it is," he told her. "I'm going to tell you something that my mother would always tell me before she would leave to go on a trip. You can see the moon from here, and wherever your mom, dad, and Uncle Riley are, they can see the exact same moon."

The eight-year-old's eyes seemed to brighten up at the statement. "Really? It feels like they're so much closer!"

"It's a very comforting thought," Ian agreed. He could tell that she was feeling much better than before. Maybe he could set her down and put her back to bed soon…

"Your mom sounds nice," Clara muttered suddenly.

The English man nodded, staring out at the moon. "She was," he told her. "She was a wonderful woman."

Clara smiled, feeling more content in his arms as she also looked out at the bright, full moon lighting up the city below. Then, she turned her head to look at him again. "Will you tell me a story?" she asked.

Ian froze. He'd never told a story to a young kid before, not even to Nick, and he had never been planning on it. But he couldn't just tell her no… "Uh, all right," he muttered. "Let's go back in the other room." The short walk to the couch would give him some thinking time, no matter how little it was.

"Okay." Clara jumped down from his arms and Ian slowly followed, desperately trying to think of something he could make a story out of. Since they were in Russia, his first thought was Anastasia. Bur from what he knew of Clara, she already knew everything about Anastasia. He would have to think of something else.

Finally, Ian had to sit on the dreaded couch without much of an idea for a story. Instead of sitting beside him like she had before, Clara climbed up on to his lap. The English man winced slightly, but the girl didn't notice. "Well, let's see…" he muttered, desperately thinking of something to do with Anastasia.

Then, he finally got an idea. "Have you heard the _true_ story of Rasputin?"

Clara looked up at him curiously. "The evil wizard who is after Anastasia?" she asked.

Ian laughed a little. "No, luv," he told her. "Rasputin is only evil in the movie, and he really isn't that bad of a guy. He was born in Siberia, which is a part of Northern Russia where criminals were sent to live. We could probably take a day to drive there. But when he was older, he became a savior to Alexandra, Anastasia's mother, because he saved her son, Alexis. He told her that the 'little one will not die,' but only if he did everything that he said.

"Rasputin then became Alexandra's confidant and lifeline for her son. Whenever his disease would get bad, he was able to 'fix him' per say, even when the doctors couldn't. But it was said that he did have a sort of mystic power…"

As Ian continued on with his story, he began to think about the situation they were all facing. A disease that was so powerful it shouldn't have even been humanly possible… a crazed man who though he could control it… a man who probably actually _could_ control it…

He remembered Ben mentioning that Anastasia wasn't the entire key to solving the clue, that there was more to it. And as he spoke more about Rasputin, Ian had the feeling that he had found the missing part.

Clara laid her head on Ian's shoulder, beginning to feel tired again. The story was so interesting, but there was something about the way his voice sounded when he told it that calmed her. Before she knew what was happening, her eyes slowly closed and she fell asleep.

Ian stopped the story, glancing down at Clara. When he saw that he had successfully put her to sleep, he sighed with relief. But he decided to wait for a few minutes to make sure that she truly _was_ asleep before he attempted to put her back in bed so she wouldn't wake up again. He would have think of another story if that were to happen.

With another sigh, Ian knew that it was going to be a long few minutes.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley quietly opened the door of the hotel room, hoping that he wouldn't wake anyone inside. His plan was to grab his laptop from the bedroom and run back out. Simple as that.

But he knew his plan was changed as soon as he entered the living area and closed the door behind him. For on the couch, Ian Howe was sitting, dozed off, with Clara sleeping on his lap. Riley grinned as he snuck past them, quickly finding his laptop in the other room before he came back out.

"This is perfect for blackmail," Riley whispered to himself, pulling out his phone and setting the camera mode. Then, he took a quick picture.

Hearing the quiet click from the camera, Ian slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room as if in a daze. But when his eyes landed on Riley with his cell phone out, his head cleared instantly as he realized what the techie had done. "Riley, I swear, if I didn't have a sleeping child on my lap right now, I would _kill_ you!" he hissed threateningly.

Riley laughed nervously, appearing ready to bolt from the room. "Thanks, Ian. I love you too," he replied.

"You had _better_ get rid of that picture, Riley," Ian growled, his anger still evident.

"Oh, come on, Ian. Don't you want the memory of when you were the only one there for poor little Clara?" Riley teased. When he saw the set angry expression, his smile vanished. "Don't worry. I'll get rid of it, Ian."

Ian was satisfied, but he didn't show it to the younger man. "You'd better be if you know what's good for you." Then, he looked down on the miraculously still sleeping Clara. "Will you help me move her to the other room?"

Riley smirked. "Why should I?" he asked. "You just threatened to kill me."

The English man rolled his eyes. "If you help me with your niece, I'll spare your life," he answered. "I can't kill you… at least, not yet. We have some things to talk about that could help with this whole Artem situation."

"Okay, fine. I'll help you." Riley hoped that he knew Ian well enough to know that he really wasn't going to kill him as he set his laptop carefully on the chair and put his cell phone in his pocket, safe from the other man's reach. He then approached the couch and picked up the sleeping Clara and situated her comfortably in his arms. Ian slowly stood up and followed the techie into the bedroom, watching as he gently set the eight-year-old in bed, covering her up before kissing her forehead. Then, they both went back into the living area.

"All right. So, what did you find?" Riley asked, sitting down in the chair that he had set his laptop on before putting it on his lap and opening it.

Ian sat in the chair beside him. "First of all, I have to show you this picture that Clara happened to take which I think is our new lead," he explained, taking out the camera before giving it to Riley. "What does it look like to you?"

Riley studied the picture for a long moment before finally giving his answer. "It looks like… mountains."

Ian sighed. "No, Riley. Look closer," he said. "I realize it's kind of late, but concentrate for a minute. Think of the clue that Artem gave us."

"I still don't see…" Riley began, but inspiration finally hit him. "It looks like a crown."

"Exactly."

"We've been thinking too literally," Riley continued with rising excitement. "Artem too. That's why we haven't been able to find anything!"

Ian nodded. "So, now we have a whole new spectrum to work with," he stated. "It makes sense that we could probably find some sort of clue there if not the cure itself. _The cure is found within the crown of Anastasia, _remember?"

"Yeah," Riley muttered. "It'll probably take a couple of days, but we're bound to find something. There _has_ to be something there."

"But now this raises another question," Ian commented. "What does Anastasia have to do with these mountains?"

Riley's excitement suddenly diminished, not having an answer for this new question. But then, he saw the slight smirk on the English man's face. "I suppose you have an answer for this new question?"

Ian's smirk broadened. "Yes. Part of one anyway," he confirmed. "I was wondering if Rasputin was linked to Artem or this disease at all."

"Rasputin?" Riley muttered thoughtfully. "Rasputin… Uh, yes, actually. I think I read something about Artem that said that he believed that he was descended from Rasputin or something like that. Definitely a whacko."

"Whacko? That a technical term?" Ian wondered teasingly, remembering that Riley liked _Batman_ and would catch the joke.

Riley laughed a little, proving Ian's theory. "Not normally, but in _my_ book, it's a technical term."

Ian smiled, but then he knew they had to be serious again. "So, do you know much about this disease?" he asked. "Like where it came from or anything?"

"Yeah. Here," Riley muttered, bringing up the same page that he had used to explain the toxin to Ben. "That's what it does, but I don't think you want to look into that right now… Here we go. The poison is made up of chemicals that are primarily found in Russia, which is probably how Artem was able to create it. The only outbreak, which was contained, was during the Romanov era." He paused and looked over at Ian. "Do you think that this has something to do with Rasputin?"

"I'm willing to bet on it," Ian told him, looking at the screen carefully. "Who else would be able to contain something so powerful? But does it tell you the reason that the disease was created during that period? Why it was used? How did Artem know how to make it anyway? He had to follow something…"

Riley shrugged. "I don't know. I can try to find more on the history of the toxin, but I have a feeling that we'll have to find out more on Rasputin too," he told him. "That'll be nearly impossible because there isn't much on Rasputin out there. I should know. I did a report on him in world history class in the tenth grade. As for Artem, all I can think of for a reason that he would know about the disease is that his uncle was a big history nerd, worse than Ben. He had a lot of artifacts in his house, so he could have had something that Artem found…"

"Something about Rasputin," Ian specified.

"Yeah. Something about Rasputin," Riley agreed. "Or, even something that Rasputin owned."

Ian sighed. "If only there was a way to get a look in his uncle's house…"

"He lived in Siberia," Riley offered.

Slowly, a grin spread on Ian's face. "Siberia, you say?" When Riley nodded, Ian reached into his pocket to find his cell phone. "I would say it's time to contact Ben about our discoveries."

**A/N**: Can anyone say Siberia? Sorry for cutting it off there, but as I said, the chapter would have been much too long if I threw the other half in. But go Ian for discovering so much! And there, you saw his other side. Rasputin is my favorite historical figure, if you can tell:) And Ian's been through hell and high water, but put him with a young child and it's the most difficult and most awkward thing in the world! Lol. So, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. They won't be going too many places in the next chapter, but the one after that, things will really begin to pick up again. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer**: Nope, not mine. If they were, I'd be ready to kick Artem's butt with them!

**A/N**: Hey, I'm back with another update! Sort of quick. But OMG! I saw "The Dark Knight" with my friends on opening day yesterday, and it was soooooooooooo good! Oh, it was just amazing! Nothing I can think of can even describe how incredible it was! And Heath Ledger _nailed_ The Joker. He was simply simply amazing. He we went way beyond my expectations with the character, and the entire movie went way beyond my expectations. I absolutely loved it! "You can die being the hero, or you can live long enough to become the villain." Loved that line! Okay, anyway, enough of my ranting. Thank you so so much to **daisyduke80**, **broadwaylover07**, **Thuraya Known**, **Halo**, **Miss Fenway**, **myloveimfaithfullyyours**, **LoremIpsum**, **SgtGroganSG**, and **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh** for your wonderful reviews! They've all made me smile, especially now that most of you seem to like Ian! All right. Enjoy the next chapter, everyone!

Chapter 16

"Yeah, I see it," Ben muttered, looking at the picture of the mountains on Ian's camera carefully. "It makes sense really, if you think about it. That's why no one has found anything yet. We've been looking in all of the wrong places…"

"That's exactly what I said," Riley stated proudly from the chair he was sitting on behind him.

Ben nodded thoughtfully. The sun was just beginning to rise over St. Petersburg, and Nick, Powell, Dustin, and Abigail, though sleep deprived, were sitting around Ben, Riley, and Ian in the living area of the hotel room as they waited to see what their next plan was. Clara was still sleeping peacefully in the bedroom, having no idea what was happening around her.

"This may be where the next clue is, but we can't go here yet," the treasure hunter told them.

A confused look crossed Powell's face. "But isn't the cure there?" he asked. "Couldn't we just find it and get this whole thing over with?"

"If we went now, we wouldn't have any idea where we would be going or what we would be looking for. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack," Riley answered in explanation. "Which is why while we were waiting for all of you to get back, Ian and I looked up some things about Artem's uncle."

The techie turned his laptop around to show the rest of the group, waiting until they moved forward so they could see the screen better before starting. "His name was Viktor, but since I can't pronounce his last name, we'll just call him Uncle Viktor for the sake of my explanation.

"Now Uncle Viktor was big on history, especially Russian history and the Romanov family. This guy had many artifacts, including a bunch of the things that had belonged to Rasputin. These things were found in the remains of where Rasputin used to live. Now, most of these things are small things that remind me of stuff a sorcerer might have like glass vials and things like that. And because of Artem's schizophrenia and claims about how he was descended from Rasputin, Uncle Viktor thought it would be best to keep these things hidden from his nephew.

"But one of the artifacts that was revealed in an interview with Uncle Viktor before he died was a journal, used by Rasputin to keep his secrets in. Most of the artifacts were taken from his house and put into museums after his death, but he had made the request to keep the Rasputin belongings hidden in the house so Artem couldn't get his hands on them."

"So… we have to find this journal then?" Nick wondered.

"That's what we're thinking, yes," Ian told him. "Rasputin was supposedly very powerful and rumored to be mystical, but he wasn't perfect either. He would have had to make reminders to himself about the disease, and most likely the cure, since it was so deadly and anything could have gone wrong."

"But how did Artem learn how to create the disease then?" Abigail pressed. "I thought that his uncle kept Rasputin's journal from him."

Riley shrugged. "He did," he replied. "But if I hacked into records of some kind, I could find out how to make it. In the information of the disease I found already using methods of questionable legality, it just said that it was made from chemicals primarily found here in Russia. But if I dug a little deeper, I could probably find out what I would need to do to create it. Artem must have someone with him who's good with computers."

"Is there nothing about the cure that you can find?" Powell asked.

"No," Riley answered, shaking his head. "There's nothing about it except for stating that it exists."

"Which is why we need Rasputin's journal," Ben stated. "That way, we can see what the cure is and hopefully its location so we can find it and give it to Artem."

Ian looked over at Ben when he heard his statement, but then he quickly looked away again when Riley began talking. "I can find the address of this house, but I need a map of Siberia to compare it to."

"Why don't you check the lobby?" Ben suggested. "They may have maps there."

Riley nodded, slowly getting to his feet. "I can try," he muttered, handing his laptop carefully to Ben. "Just don't break it." Then, leaving everyone behind to think of a new plan, the techie quickly left the hotel room and shut the door behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"_Derr'mo!"_

Riley paused as he entered the lobby. It was still early in the morning, much too early for breakfast to be served, and yet someone was already there. He cautiously walked forward, seeing in the dim light coming from the fireplace that a young woman around his age with black hair that fell to her shoulders in layers and sapphire eyes was sitting in one of the comfortable chairs with a laptop. She was typing furiously, but she appeared to be frustrated about something on it that wasn't working.

The techie smiled to himself. If she was having computer problems, maybe he could help her… Riley took a deep breath and began to walk toward her.

The girl quickly looked up when she heard his cautious footsteps, surprised to see him. She cleared her throat nervously and began to speak quickly in Russian.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand Russian," Riley said, coming to a stop near her as he shook his head.

Realizing what Riley had said, the girl smiled apologetically. "Oh, _pros'tite_. Sorry, my apologies," she replied, her accent still heavily Russian. But at least she was speaking English. "I didn't realize that you weren't from here."

"That's all right," Riley replied, carefully sitting in the chair beside her. "What are you having problems with? I'm pretty good with computers. Maybe I could help you."

The girl looked hesitant. "Oh, I don't know…" she muttered.

Though she tried to hide the laptop screen, Riley caught a glimpse of what was on it, and it wasn't something that could be done legally. "You can hack?" he asked in disbelief.

"_Da_. Yes," the girl answered quietly. "Do… how do I say it… do _you_ have any experience with… hacking?"

Riley smiled as he nodded off-handedly. "I've had my fair share of experience," he told her.

The girl laughed a little. "Maybe you could help me then," she said, hading Riley the laptop. "I cannot get any farther."

"Sure thing. Let me take a look." Riley studied the laptop screen, seeing that she had been looking at some types of chemicals that weren't publicly sold. But it appeared that mixing them together would create some type of ancient herbal medicine. Wondering why she would be looking at something like this but not asking aloud, Riley began typing in some things on the computer.

"My name is Calina," the girl suddenly said as Riley worked. "What's yours?"

"Riley," the techie replied. "It's a weird name meant for a dog or something I know, but…"

"_Net_. No, no. I like it," Calina assured him with a smile. "Riley… It's just not… how do you say… traditional."

Riley shook his head a little as he laughed. "Yeah, well… I think yours is pretty."

Calina smiled again. Then, Riley grinned triumphantly as the page moved forward to another, this one giving all the information on the medicine- how to make it, what was needed, and what it's purposes were. "Is this what you were looking for?" he asked, showing her the screen.

"_Da_. Yes!" Calina answered, taking the laptop from him. "_Spa'sibo_. Thank you, Riley!"

"Not a problem," Riley told her with a smile of his own. "What do you need it for? Is someone sick or something?"

Calina hesitated for a minute. "Something like that," she finally muttered with a slight nod. "But I'm going back to my room now. _Spa'sibo_. Thank you again, Riley. I hope to see you again sometime. _Dosvi'daniya_. Good-bye."

Riley watched as Calina got to her feet and placed her hand on top of his for a minute before she hurried up the stairs that led to the rooms. Then, he sighed, getting to his feet to search for a map of Siberia before he too could go back to his room.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Do you have the address? Yes, it's in Siberia. According to the map that Riley found earlier, it's at the base of a mountain range." Ian had to speak quietly so he wouldn't wake the sleeping Clara since he was in the bedroom, but he had to be alone to make the phone call. "I know you'll find it, I just need you to make it in the next day or so since that's when we'll be arriving. All right. Thanks. See you soon." Then, he hung up his cell phone before putting in back in his pocket.

"Is someone coming?"

Ian quickly turned around, seeing that Clara was sitting up in bed and looking at his watch, seeing that it was now fifteen minutes after ten in the morning. "Don't worry about it, okay?" he finally told her. "But remember how I was telling you about Siberia in my story last night? Well, we're going to go there."

Clara's face brightened up. "Really?" she asked with excitement. "When?"

"Hopefully sometime this afternoon," Ian answered. "The latest will be this evening."

"That's awesome!" Clara truly seemed to be very excited about this unexpected trip, though she didn't even know why they were going.

Ian nodded. "Yes. Now get changed," he told her, getting to his feet. "We have a long trip ahead of us."

"Okay!"

The English man smiled to himself as he left the room, but he instantly wish that he would have gone somewhere else because of the sight that met his eyes as soon as he entered the living area.

Riley and Dustin were standing in the middle of the room, bickering about something, while Ben tried to settle the techie down without success. Powell soon gave up on Dustin as he sat down on the couch beside Abigail, who had her hand to her head, with Nick sitting on her other side.

"We could all be home right now instead of being in this mess if you could just work faster!" Dustin was saying fiercely. "I thought you knew what you were doing!"

"Well, Dustin, you haven't done a thing to help, so if you want to home, you are more than welcome to!" Riley returned angrily. "But none of us can go with you because then everyone would die! If you really don't care that much about anyone else and that much about yourself, then fine! I _dare_ you to walk out that door!"

"You know that's not what I meant!" Dustin snapped. "But now instead of being able to leave, we have to go to Siberia!"

"So that's automatically _my_ fault?!" Riley spat. "What do you want from me, Dustin? Do you expect me to magically get us a car so we can-!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Ian suddenly intervened, standing between them. "You're driving me mad! Besides, Clara is going to be coming out here at any minute. Do you want her to see you two like this?"

Riley sighed heavily and shook his head in answer, turning away from his older brother's heated gaze. Dustin rolled his eyes in response and pushed past Riley and Ben, walking out of the hotel room and slamming the door behind him.

"He'll be back," Ian stated with frustration. "He just has to blow off some steam."

"Yeah, but I wish that he didn't have a copy of the room key," Riley muttered. Ben placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder comfortingly.

When she saw that things had finally settled down, Abigail stood up and disappeared into the bedroom to check on Clara. Powell sighed and moved over a little on the couch so he could talk to Nick without being overheard. "I thought for sure that we would have to worry about Ben and Ian fighting, not Riley and Dustin," he commented quietly.

"I know what you mean," Nick agreed with a slight nod. "I just don't know what to do with those two."

" We could put them both in a locked room and see who comes out alive," Powell suggested with a grin.

Nick sighed and shook his head. This rivalry was tearing him apart since both Riley and Dustin were his friends, though the younger Poole was closer to him now than the older. What had happened to Dustin, the man who had once been his best friend?

And what would happen if he was pushed too far?

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Was it successful?" Artem asked into his phone. He was silent for a minute as he listened to the person on the other end talk, and then he nodded. "All right. Just keep tabs on them."

Another pause, and Artem's face darkened. "They're going _there_? Why?"

Ivan suddenly looked up when Artem approached him, curiously watching the younger man's face. "Well, let me know. _Dosvi'daniya._ Good-bye." He then flipped the phone closed before putting it back in his pocket.

"What was that all about?" Ivan asked.

"My cousin just told me that Gates is heading to Siberia, but does not know the reason behind the sudden change," Artem answered, sitting in the chair beside him. "I also now have Riley Poole's cell phone number, along with Ian Howe."

"What are you going to do about Gates now that they're going to Siberia?" Ian wondered.

Artem smirked. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do." Then, he turned to look at the two blond-haired brothers who were playing cards on the other side of the room. "Dimitri. Sacha. Prepare to leave. You're going to Siberia. So are you, Ivan."

Ivan blinked, his one good eye filled with confusion while Dimitri and Sacha ran from the room to follow orders, their cards now lying scattered everywhere on the floor. "We're going to follow them? But why?" he said. "What good will it do if we don't know why they're going?"

"We're going to make things more interesting, Ivan. You know, raised the stakes just a little higher," Artem explained casually as he carefully got to his feet because of his injured ankle and wandered over to where the cards now lay. "We just need to get the upper hand again. But to do that…" He paused, bending down and picking up a card to look at the red symbol on it.

"We need the ace."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Nick turned off the shower, quickly towel drying before he got dressed again. Since everyone else was in the living area, he left his shirt off since he was going to be changing into a different one as he entered the bedroom. He finally found his bag among everyone else's underneath the window, putting his old shirt in before searching for a new one.

Suddenly, he jumped and whirled around when the door softly opened, and he saw that Clara had entered the bedroom. The eight-year-old blushed slightly when she saw that she had walked in on Nick shirtless, but then he eyes widened in horror when she saw the pale scar that was running down his lower right side.

"What happened to Uncle Nick?!" she cried.

_Uncle_? Had she really just called him _uncle_? Nick was completely taken off guard as he watched as Clara covered her mouth, realizing that the sudden new title must have accidentally slipped out.

Ian was the first one there, thinking that something had happened to his younger stepbrother, shortly followed by Powell and Riley. The techie looked slightly put down that Clara had called Nick "uncle," but he was still worried about the other man. Ben and Abigail shortly came after, finally followed by Dustin to see what was wrong. When he saw that Nick didn't appear to be injured, Ian sighed with relief.

"I don't think anything happened to him, Clara…"

"Then what's that?" Clara asked accusingly, pointing to the scar on his right side.

Ben and Ian exchanged looks while the rest of the group did the same, wondering how much they should reveal. "Oh, that. Well… um…" the treasure hunter muttered uncomfortably. "Let's, uh… go into the other room, shall we? It might be easier to explain if we can all sit together…"

Dustin led the smaller group of six back into the living area while Nick quickly found a shirt and put it on. Clara waited for him and then pulled on his hand as she led him into the other room, sitting next to him on the floor. Then, she looked at her father expectantly.

"Okay, well eight years ago, there was this treasure that Riley's father left behind for him and Dustin before he died that had once belonged to Jesse James," Ben explained, growing more confident as he went along and knowing that his daughter would know the historical figure. "The hunt led us down to Missouri, where we met up with Ian, Powell, Nick, and Dustin."

"And then Dustin got a little greedy…" Riley cut in. Dustin gave his younger brother a warning glare while Ben did the same.

"Riley, don't," he advised sternly. "Not now."

"And then there was an incident," Ian continued, seeing that Ben was already feeling uncomfortable again. "Dustin had a gun, and… well, it… it was accidentally fired, and… and Nick was hit by the stray bullet." Ben and Abigail both sighed with relief when Ian didn't mention the fact that Dustin had been aiming at Ben and Riley, and Nick had gotten in the way to save the English man when Ian had tried to calm Dustin down.

Clara gasped in horror from beside Nick, but then she turned and gave the older Poole an evil look since he had hurt her new uncle. Dustin rolled his eyes when he saw her expression. "Oh, sure. Make the child hate me, Ian," he muttered.

"She already didn't like you, so why should this make a difference?" Riley pointed out, uncharacteristic venom in his tone. Dustin turned to him and gave him a threatening glare- much darker than the one that Clara was giving him.

"And that's why you should never play with a gun, Clara," Ian concluded quickly before anything could happen between the Poole brothers.

"Yes, Clara," Ben agreed firmly. "_Never_ play with, or even hold, a gun. Do you understand me?"

Clara nodded. "Someone could get hurt, like Uncle Nick," she told him. Ben, Abigail, and Riley looked at each other while Ian and Powell did the same. The word "uncle" hadn't slipped out that time…

Nick laughed a little. "Yeah, but it was a complete accident. I don't blame him for it at all," he said, hoping to lightly the truth of the story a little. Dustin looked at him with some surprise in his eyes.

"But doesn't it still hurt?" Clara asked, her eyes on the spot where the scar had been beneath his shirt.

"Only if I dream about it," Nick answered her quietly. "Only if I see it so clearly in my mind that I wake up and can still feel the pain. Only then it hurts a little, reminding me of the day it happened."

Ian sighed as he looked at his younger stepbrother, remembering the many nights over the past eight years that Nick had woken up because of the pain in his side. It had been terrible for both of them- for Nick because it hurt more than he had told Clara, and for himself because he had to watch Nick suffer all over again, unable to do anything about it except stay by his side.

Clara nodded thoughtfully before turning back to Ben again. "What about the treasure?" she wondered. "Did you find it?"

"Yes. Your mother, Uncle Riley, and I found it after Ian, Powell, and Dustin went with some FBI agents to get Nick to a hospital," Ben told her, intentionally leaving out the fact that the four men had been arrested.

"That's where I got your bracelet, Clara," Riley added with a smile. "Jesse James had left it with the treasure for my ancestor, who was also named Clara."

Clara looked down on her wrist, admiring the shimmering silver in a different way. From what she knew about Jesse James, the bandit had been around in the late 1800's. The bracelet was so old, yet still so beautiful…

But then, Ben's cell phone rang. The room went silent as the treasure hunter dug in his pocket and pulled it out, watching and waiting as he looked down on it. But Ben was surprised when he saw the number flashing on the screen.

It was not a number that he expected to see.

**A/N**: Yeah, time for a slight cliffie. So, who's calling? You'll have to find out! Oh, and you all have to see "The Dark Knight!" It's amazing! Anyway, thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer**: Anything from the movies you recognize are mine, but everything that you recognize that are mine are… well, they're mine…

**A/N**: Thank you so much for your great reviews! They're very inspiring. Now, for this chapter, there's a lighthearted moment toward the end, which I'm pretty sure will be the last one before the end, so enjoy it as much as you can and don't get too used to them. Thank you so much to **Thuraya Known**, **broadwaylover07**, **LoremIpsum**, **Miss Fenway**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Riley R. Poole**, **daisyduke80**, and **LupinandHarry** for your quick reviews! Now, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 17

Emily sat in front of the computer, nervously searching through her inbox. Her hand tightened around the mouse when she still didn't have one from Ben. "He still hasn't sent anything, Patrick!" she announced nervously.

Patrick paused on the stairs with a sigh, his trip upstairs to grab a book he had wanted to read delayed further. "Emily, relax. It's only been a couple of days," he told her, raising his voice a little so she could hear him. "Give him some time to settle in. I'm sure he'll send you an email as soon as he gets the chance!"

"But he has Riley's laptop there with him!" Emily replied stubbornly. "He could email us at any time!"

"Em, give your son a break! I'm sure he must be very bus-!" Patrick began, but his statement was sharply cut off.

Emily slowly looked away from the screen, wondering what had stopped her husband from speaking. "Patrick?"

Patrick didn't respond. One of his hands flew to his chest as a burning pain spread through it, slowly moving down his left arm. His heart throbbed painfully as his breath came in shorter gasps. Each gasp hurt to take, and his legs soon collapsed from under him as his body grew weak. He attempted to grab the stair railing with his free hand but missed, and he fell to the stairs and slid down to the bottom.

"Oh my God!" Emily cried, horrified. "Patrick! _Patrick_!" She jumped to her feet and instantly knelt down by his side, taking his hand in hers. "Patrick!"

"Em… Em…" Patrick gasped, squeezing her hand tightly. His other hand was still clamped over his chest as his eyes shut tightly in pain.

Tears fell quickly from her eyes as Emily pulled her cell phone out of her pocket with her free hand and dialed 9-1-1. "Yes, my husband's having a heart attack. I need an ambulance immediately!" Emily hoped her voice was calm enough as she gave their address to the dispatcher, though she was far from being calm. Once the woman assured her that an ambulance would come right away and that everything would be all right, Emily thanked her and flipped the phone shut. She felt it slip out of her hand and heard it hit the floor, but she didn't take any notice of it. She grabbed Patrick's hand with both of hers, her tears falling even faster than before while she waited anxiously to hear the live-saving sirens come.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben flipped open his cell phone. "Hello, Mom."

"Oh, thank God you answered, Ben," Emily said on the other end, letting out a relieved sigh. "I'm at the hospital."

"What? What's wrong?" Ben asked, instantly on alert. He saw Abigail, Riley, and Clara look at him with worry. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, honey," Emily answered, but Ben could hear the tears in her voice. "But your father had a heart attack. I rode with him here, but they haven't allowed me to see him yet. I don't know how he is…"

A heart attack? Ben ran his hand through his dark hair nervously, taking a deep breath. "All right, Mom. Just calm down," he tried to assure her. "I'm coming home."

"What?" Riley mouthed while the rest of the group looked at the treasure hunter with either shock or horror. Ben ignored them.

Emily took a deep, shuddering breath that matched her son's. "Oh, all right. Please be home soon, Ben," she muttered pleadingly.

"I will, Mom," Ben told her. "I'll probably get there tomorrow evening. Hold on, all right? I love you."

"I love you too," Emily replied. "Bye."

"Bye."

"What do you mean you're going home?" Riley asked with disbelief when Ben closed the cell phone and put it in his pocket. "What's going on, Ben?"

"Riley. Abigail. Come with me," Ben simply said. "I need to talk to you for a minute. Ian, why don't you come too?"

The three who Ben had asked for got to their feet to follow him, but so did Clara. The treasure hunter sighed when he saw her, and he knelt down in front of his daughter. "Clara, why don't you stay here with your Uncle Nick?" he suggested, kissing her blonde head. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

Clara crossed her arms and glared at Ben as he stood back up, watching as he, Riley, Abigail, and Ian left the room and closed the door behind him.

"All right. _Now_ will you tell us what's happening?" Riley wondered once they were alone, beginning to feel very worried.

Ben sighed heavily. "My dad a heart attack," he explained softly.

Abigail covered her mouth as she gasped in horror, and even Ian appeared to be slightly concerned. Patrick must have been one of his better-behaved hostages.

"Was it minor?" Riley finally asked, knowing that the same question must have been on Abigail and Ian's minds too. "Or was it… major?" He hesitated on the last word.

"I don't know," Ben answered with a shake of his head. "My mom doesn't even know anything yet, so… I have to go home."

Abigail suddenly walked forward with tears shining in her eyes as she put her arms around her husband, able to tell that he was close to having a breakdown. Ben pulled her close to him, being calmed slightly as he breathed in her scent from her hair. "Thank you," he whispered, wiping away the tears that had fallen from his wife's eyes.

Riley walked forward too, placing his hand on Ben's back comfortingly. Patrick had become a second father for him, and he desperately hoped that he would pull through. Ian hung back from the trio, appearing uncomfortable.

"Let one of us come with you, Ben," Abigail suddenly muttered.

"Yeah. You shouldn't have to go alone," Riley agreed.

But Ben shook his head as he looked at his wife and best friend. "No. I need you guys to stay here to keep searching for that cure," he told them. "I'll meet up with you again once I know everything is okay back home. Besides, we can't have too many people leaving or else Artem will get mad. So, please. Just stay here."

Abigail and Riley looked at each other, both obviously displeased with the treasure hunter's decision. But they also knew not to question him once his mind was made up. "All right, Ben," the techie finally said quietly, putting his hand on Abigail's shoulder as well. "We'll stay…"

"Riley, listen," Ben muttered, placing his best friend's arm. "I need you to watch over Abigail and Clara carefully for me while I'm gone."

"I will," Riley promised, though Abigail gave him a small glare. The look wasn't very effective though, since more tears had sprung to her eyes.

Then, Ben turned to look at Ian, who looked back at him with obvious discomfort. "Ian, will you continue to lead them on this hunt?" he asked. "I really need you to do this for me…"

The English man sighed as he stared at the man who was once his friend, who was now his reluctant ally, and made his decision. "Yeah, Ben," Ian told him with a nod. "I will lead them."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ivan knocked once before entering Artem's room, seeing that he was merely sitting on the floor holding a playing card in his hand. "I have some interesting news for you, Artem," he said, sitting on the floor beside him. "Ben is leaving for his home in America for a while."

Artem slowly looked over at him. "Is this news from a reliable source?" he asked.

"_Da_. Yes. Your cousin told me, and your cousin _is_ there at that hotel," Ivan answered. "Your cousin also mentioned that Gates is planning on returning here later."

"Do you know why he is leaving then?"

"_Net._ No."

"It doesn't matter," Artem stated off-handedly. "Who knows? It might be more fun to play our hand while he is gone. But we need to be careful in gaining the ace. For in order to play fairly…" The Russian man paused, writing a name on the red, ace of spades card he held in permanent marker.

"The ace needs to be alive."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"No, I don't want to spend almost two dollars on this ringtone," Riley muttered as he typed some things into the laptop, including Ben's credit card information. "_Ben_ does because it'll be his new ringtone for whenever Artem calls."

Clara, who sat squeezed next to her uncle on the chair in the living area of the hotel room, smiled as the screen showed that the "Psycho" ringtone had been purchased. Riley closed the laptop, smiling too since he was proud of himself, and set it on the chair beside him as he turned his attention to Ben's cell phone.

"Now all I have to do is set it as Artem's personal ringtone and… there. All done."

"Nice," Clara muttered with a smile. But then, the smile vanished as she thought about why her dad was going to be leaving in the first place. "Uncle Riley, is Grandpa going to be okay?" she asked in a scared tone.

Riley sighed, putting the treasure hunter's cell phone on top of the laptop. "Clara, I'm not going to lie. Your grandpa is very sick right now, but he's being taken care of," he answered quietly, putting his arms around her. "I'm sure that the doctors will make sure that he pulls through."

Emily had recently called Ben again, telling him that it had only been a minor heart attack. But there was still a chance that it had caused some physical trauma or he could have been injured falling down the stairs, and they still had to look him over for any evidence of these things occurring.

Clara smiled as she snuggled into Riley's side, feeling content and satisfied with his answer. Ben and Abigail, along with Ian and his gang, were all either checking out of the hotel or taking things back to the lobby that they had borrowed, leaving the eight-year-old along with her uncle. But they were both glad that they had this moment together, no matter how short it was.

Suddenly, the quiet was shattered by Clara's loud scream. Riley jumped beside her due to the unexpected noise, the sound echoing in his ears. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Look…" Clara muttered, pointing at the floor. Riley followed her finger, and he let out a yell.

A huge, hairy spider was standing on the floor a few feet in front of them, frozen because of their cries of fear. "It's looking at us, Uncle Riley," Clara said anxiously, curling up into a tight ball.

"You don't know that for sure," Riley replied, his voice wavering slightly. Then, he yelled again when the spider took a taunting step towards them, stopping again because of the loud noise as the techie scrunched as far back into the chair as he could. "Okay, okay. It _is_ looking at us. But what does it want?"

"What does what want?"

Riley instantly knew that the situation had just gone from bad to worse. He looked over at the doorway and saw that Dustin had entered the room, looking at them with amusement. Then, recognizing the look of fear on his brother's face from when they were children, the older Poole looked down at the floor and saw the spider.

Dustin had never been afraid of spiders, unlike his brother, which is why he was able to easily reach down and pick it up by one of its legs. "Look, Riley. It's harmless," he said, slowly walking toward the chair where the techie and his niece sat. "It won't harm you."

Clara screamed, ducking under Riley's arm while Dustin dangled the arachnid over his brother's head. "Dustin, just get rid of it!" Riley told him, trying to move farther down in the chair and still protect Clara. "You know how I feel about spiders!" He could feel the eight-year-old beginning to cry beneath his arm.

"Of course I do. Why do you think I'm laughing?" Dustin replied, a wicked smile on his face.

"You're sick," Riley muttered insultingly, Clara still continuing to whimper.

"Dustin, what do you think you're doing?!"

The older Poole turned around, surprised when Ian suddenly came up behind him and smacked him upside the head. "Do you _want_ to scare the little girl to death?"

But Dustin had been so startled by the sudden smack that he accidentally let go of the spider… watching as it landed directly on Riley's head.

If possible, Clara screamed louder than the first time she did while Riley cried out in fear, and Ian and Dustin moved to the sides as she jumped out of the chair and bolded from the room while the techie fell to the floor, beginning to roll and thrash around to try to get the spider off of him. Dustin collapsed into the chair that his brother had just occupied, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe, while Ian just stared at Riley in shock, not knowing what to do to try to help him.

Clara ran out into the hallway with tears rapidly falling from her eyes just as Powell and Nick reached the room. "Clara, what-!" the younger man began, but was cut off by the girl's shouts of, "Kill it! Kill it!" as she pointed back to something in the room. Powell and Nick both looked inside while the eight-year-old ran past them, seeing that Riley was almost convulsing on the floor. Their eyes widened in horror as they looked at each other, realizing what Clara had been pointing at.

Abigail let out a gasp of surprise as she came up the stairs and Clara bolted past her, looking at Nick and Powell with confusion as she approached them. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know," Powell answered, shaking his head in confusion. "But whatever it is, Clara just told us to kill Riley!"

"_What_?!" Abigail cried, covering her mouth as she looked inside the room as the scene played out.

Then, the three of them gasped and turned to look at the stairs when they herd footsteps, and they saw that Ben was walking toward them with a shaking Clara in his arms. "What's wrong?" he wondered, stopping by the door. "Clara just nearly ran out of the hotel."

Before Nick, Powell, or Abigail could answer, Ben glanced into the living area. His eyes narrowed in confusion when he saw Riley thrashing about wildly on the floor with Ian kneeling beside him, Dustin laughing uncontrollably in the chair behind them. "Ian, what are you doing? Trying to tickle him?"

"No," Ian muttered with frustration, attempting to reach for Riley's neck. "I'm trying to put the poor thing out of its misery."

Both Abigail and Powell let out strangled cries while Nick's eyes widened in horror. "Ian, how could you?!"

"What are you talking about, Nick?" Ian asked. But before he could hear his stepbrother's response, the English man grabbed the techie's shoulder. "Hold still, Riley. I've got it."

Riley's whole body tensed up as Ian reached forward and grabbed something big and black from the base of his neck. He lifted the spider off and threw it to the floor, quickly getting to his feet and stepping on it.

"Is it dead?" Clara wondered after the commotion had died down, carefully raising her head off of Ben's shoulder.

"Yes, Clara," Ian muttered, sitting back down on the floor beside Riley, who was now lying still but breathing hard. "It's dead."

"Thanks a lot, Ian. You saved my life," Riley mumbled through his gasps. Ian rolled his eyes.

Now that they knew that Clara had been talking about the spider and not Riley, Powell, Nick, and Abigail breathed sighs of relief. Ben, still confused, set Clara down and entered the hotel room to grab his packed bag from the couch. "Well, I hate to cut this short, but I should probably be going," he announced. "The bus is already waiting outside, and I don't want to miss my flight."

Ian looked behind him at Dustin, who was still laughing at Riley's encounter with the spider, got to his feet, and smacked his head again. "Will you _stop_?" he snapped. Then, he turned back to the treasure hunter, ignoring the evil look that the older Poole gave him. "Have a good flight, Ben. I hope your dad will be all right."

"Thanks, Ian," Ben replied, firmly shaking his hand. "Take good care of them."

The English man nodded, watching as Ben easily pulled Riley to his feet. "Be careful, man," the techie said, giving him a quick hug. "Give Emily and Patrick my best wishes."

"You be careful too, and I will," Ben told him before moving to the door. He slowed to a stop by Abigail, looking down at her with a sigh. Then, before she could say anything, he leaned forward and kissed her.

Abigail returned it, but it was over much too soon. She watched with tears in her eyes as Ben shook hands with Powell and Nick before walking down the hall and disappearing down the stairs.

"Daddy!" Clara suddenly cried, moving past Abigail and running after him. She followed him into the lobby, where the treasure hunter stopped with another sigh. He turned around, setting his bag down before picking his daughter up into his arms as she approached, holding her close to him.

"I'll be back soon, Clara, I promise," he said, kissing her head. "I love you."

Clara sniffed as tears feel from her eyes when Ben set her back down. He then ruffled her hair and kissed her cheek before picking up his bag and hurrying out the door to the already waiting bus. The eight-year-old ran to the door, standing outside on the snow-covered sidewalk as she watched her dad got on the bus and until it disappeared from sight.

"I love you too, Daddy…" Clara whispered, a tear falling from her eyes.

They were now on their own.

**A/N**: All right. The spider part was the last funny moment until the end of this story! From now on, it's drama, drama, and more drama. But a lot of the trailer stuff is coming up too, so I think you'll enjoy it! Let's see, let's say if I get at the very least 200 reviews, I'll post a surprise? Would that work? I don't know, you'll have to find out! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer**: Nothing is mine, so please no suing. If they were, I don't know if I would be up for climbing a mountain, lol!

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! Sorry for the longish wait. I had some difficulties with the beginning of this chapter, but after that point, it just flowed. Oh, and I lied a little. There's a couple more lighthearted moments in this chapter, but toward the end of this chapter and on, it's all drama. I don't think you mind drama, so yeah. Oh, and there's also one swear word in one of those lighthearted moments, but I don't think you mind that either. Consider yourself warned. Thank you so much to **Thuraya Known**, **broadwaylover07**, **daisyduke80**, **LoremIpsum**, **Miss Fenway**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Halo**, **Receneck**, **Spellinggirl**, **AliuIce0814**, and **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh** for your wonderful reviews! Remember, if we hit at least 200, there may be a surprise! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 18

"So we need to find out if Rasputin and Anastasia are linked at all," Riley muttered, once again looking over his laptop with Ian beside him.

"Which hopefully can be found through Rasputin's journal," Ian added. Riley nodded in agreement.

Nick left the bedroom and entered the living area of the hotel room once his bag was packed, his eyes quickly telling him what was happening. Riley and Ian were doing some last minute research, Abigail and Powell were still down in the lobby trying to figure out what to do about a rental car, and Dustin was sitting by himself on the couch, mindlessly going through his cell phone.

But then, he noticed that Clara was sitting by herself too, against the wall away from everyone else. Seeing that she appeared sad about something, Nick began to walk toward her.

"Hey, Cutie," he said, sitting down next to the eight-year-old. "Are you okay?"

"Not really, Uncle Nick," Clara told him quietly, curling her legs up under her arms.

Nick sighed as he looked down at Clara. "Is it because you're sad about your dad leaving and you're worried about your grandpa?"

Clara nodded mutely, and Nick knew that was the only answer that he was going to get out of her. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much, Clara. I'm sure your grandpa will be just fine, and your dad will be back soon. Just wait and see."

"Thanks, Uncle Nick," Clara muttered, leaning over to hug him tightly. Nick hugged her back, smiling slightly as he rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Well, we'll find out when we get there, I guess," Riley suddenly muttered, closing his laptop as he looked around the living area. "Is everyone ready to go?"

Clara got to her feet and sat on Riley's lap, a broad smile on her face. "I can't wait!" she exclaimed. Ian laughed a little from beside them.

Riley smiled back at her before kissing her forehead. "Well, we'll have to wait until your mom comes back to see if we have a rental car or not," he told her. "If not, we're kinda in trouble."

"Why?" Clara asked, wondering why they would be in trouble if they didn't have a car.

Before Riley could answer her question, the door to the hotel room opened and Abigail and Powell entered, both looking disappointed. "They told us that it was too late to provide us with a rental car since it's the afternoon," the blonde reported with a heavy sigh.

"Now what to do we do?" Nick wondered, his eyes traveling to Ian when he hoped that he would have an answer. "We have to get to Siberia and find Rasputin's journal."

Ian appeared to be deep in thought about another solution to their problem for a moment before he smirked, a smirk he knew that only Nick, Powel, and Dustin would recognize. "Don't worry. I can get us a car."

Xxxxxxxxxx

The group of seven quickly left the hotel with their bags, heading to the parking lot that was located in the back of the building. "What are we doing back here?" Abigail wondered, holding on to Clara's hand tightly when she dreaded the answer.

"Hold on," Ian muttered in return, his eyes scanning the lot full of cars. Finally, he spotted a navy blue van about halfway down the aisle from where they stood. It could surely fit seven… "I'll be right back. Powell. Nick. You guys stay here with Riley and Abigail," he muttered to his men. "Dustin, you come with me."

Powell and Nick instantly knew what was going on, which was the reason they quickly turned to Abigail and Riley in hopes to distract them while Ian and Dustin hurried toward the van. But the techie's eyes wandered away from then and the direction his brother was going, and he was surprised to see someone he knew walking toward a red car a little ways to his left.

It was Calina.

Riley glanced back at Abigail before quickly leaving her and running toward the Russian woman. "Calina!"

Calina looked up when she suddenly heard her name, surprised, but then she smiled when she saw that it was Riley coming toward her. "Oh. _Zd'rravstvuite_. Hello, Riley," she said pleasantly. "I'm surprised you haven't left yet."

"What do you mean?" Riley asked. Now he was confused.

"I heard the blonde woman and the big man with curly hair in your group talking to the people at the service desk asking about a rental car to get to Siberia," Calina answered with a slight laugh. "Aren't you guys going?"

Riley laughed a little also. "Oh, yeah. We are," he told her. "We just couldn't get a rental car, so… we're getting one."

Calina smiled knowingly. "I take it that hacking into computers isn't your _only_ area of expertise." She looked over at the rest of the cars in the lot.

"Car jacking? Oh, no, that's not _my _area," Riley replied once she realized what she was talking about, keeping his tone light to make it sound as thought it was a joke. "That would be the scary blond English man of the group."

"All right, Riley. Whatever you say," Calina said with a laugh. "But since you're going to Siberia, I thought you might need this." She pulled a folded piece of paper out of the folder that she held in her hand and gave it to the techie.

Riley looked down at it and saw with surprise that it was the map of Siberia that he had been looking for, and included on it was Artem's uncle's house. "How did you know about this?" he asked in a whisper.

But he didn't get an answer. Riley looked up, seeing that Calina had unlocked her car and opened the door, preparing to climb in. "Calina?"

She didn't answer him again as she quickly shut the door behind her. Riley sighed as he watched her put her seatbelt on and start the car before pulling out of the parking space and driving out of sight.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Keep watch," Ian muttered to Dustin as he pulled out a thin wire and began to pick the lock of the van. He sighed with frustration as he began to work. Picking locks had never been his strong point. That would have been Phil, and he would have given anything to have Phil there with him now. He had never met anyone who could pick a lock quicker and more efficiently than Phil could.

Ian smiled triumphantly when he heard the soft click that told him he had unlocked the van door. He pulled it open after looking around the parking lot for any sign of the owner before climbing into the driver's seat. Now came the difficult part. Ian pulled out his penknife, hoping that he could hotwire the van without short-circuiting it. He had never actually hotwired a car before. If the need for the task ever arose, it had been Shaw who did the hotwiring. He had watched his best friend do it many times, and he hoped that it would be enough.

Suddenly, he gasped quietly when he heard Dustin say his name. The English man looked out the front window ahead of him, seeing that a balding man that was slightly overweight was staring at the navy blue van and its new occupant with horror. This must have been the vehicle's owner, Ian thought with dread. But the bright side was that at least he didn't have to hotwire the car now. He knew that if Shaw would have been there, he would have been on the man instantly, scaring the life out of him with his gun as he demanded he hand over the keys to the van. Since it appeared that Dustin wouldn't be doing that, he knew that he would have to do it himself.

Ian slowly slipped out of the van as the man approached, speaking quickly in a long stream of Russian. Dustin raised his eyebrows. "I have no idea what you just said, but I would appreciate it if you handed over the keys to your van," the English man muttered calmly, putting his hand out in front of him as he moved his leather jacket to the side to reveal the gun on his belt. The metallic weapon was relatively new to Ian, having only carried one since he broke out of jail the first time before the hunt for the Jesse James treasure. He didn't use it much, and its main use for him was to intimidate people.

Which seemed to be working. A gun must have been a universal symbol because the man's face instantly drained of color when he saw it, and he began to anxiously dig around in his suit pockets for the keys. He finally found them and placed them in Ian's palm with a shaking hand.

"Thank you," Ian said, climbing back into the van behind the wheel, finding the right key before unlocking the rest of the doors and adjusting the seat. "I don't know if you can understand me, but we will return your van to you when we are finished using it. Climb on in, Dustin."

Dustin slid open the side door of the van and climbed into the seat behind Ian before closing it again. "All right, let's go," he told him, tapping the seat in front of him.

Ian nodded, putting on his seatbelt before backing out of the parking space and driving to where the rest of the group was waiting. He noticed in the rear view mirror that the man they had taken the man from was now talking on a cell phone.

The English man slowed to a stop in front of the group, and Dustin stood up and opened the other back door. "Get in!" he shouted, quickly moving back to his seat and putting on his seatbelt.

Nick ran to the passenger seat and climbed in beside Ian while Riley and Abigail rushed in to claim the back seats so Clara could sit between them. Powell climbed in last, closing the van door before sitting in the middle seat across from Dustin.

"All right, Riley. Where are we headed?" Ian asked anxiously, having the bad feeling that the Russian police were going to show up at any moment.

"Here, pass this up to him," Riley told Powell from where he sat behind him, handing him the map that Calina had given to him. "Do you see the house and address on there I circled? That's Artem's uncle's house. And look. It's right at the base of the mountain that makes up the left part of the crown formation, just on the other side. I guess he lived right at the very extreme limit of where Siberia is."

"So, we'll be pretty close to where the cure is, right?" Powell said as he handed the map up to Ian.

"Potentially," Ian replied as he quickly looked the map over. "We may be able to find it even before Ben gets back." He took out his cell phone and started looking for a number as he slowly began to drive toward the exit of the parking lot. "Never copy me and use a cell phone while you drive." The comment was mainly directed toward Clara.

"Hey, Ian. Did you get this van… _legally_?" Abigail suddenly asked. She could faintly hear sirens in the distance, but they steadily grew louder as they got closer.

Ian smirked as his eyes glanced quickly from the road ahead of him to the cell phone screen in his hand while he typed in the house address and the coordinates into it. Luckily, there weren't any other cars trying to leave or enter the parking lot. "Questionably," he answered.

"Oh my God, Ian," Abigail muttered, rolling her eyes. "I swear, working with you is more trouble than it's worth."

"What? Come on, it's better than all of us stuffing into a compact car. Besides, I'm going to return it when we're done." Ian finally finished typing in the coordinates of where they were headed and hit send, but who he was sending it to, no one knew. He then put his cell phone on the dashboard in front of him instead of going through the trouble of putting it back in his pocket, and he pulled out of the parking lot and joined the flow of traffic just as the police cars pulled into the lot form the other driveway on the opposite end.

"That was a close call," Nick muttered, sighing with relief as he leaned back more comfortably in his seat once they were a safe distance away from the hotel. Ian nodded in agreement.

"This van smells weird," Riley suddenly stated from the back, the scent of cigarette smoke mixed with cheap cologne entering his nose.

Ian sighed to himself, almost ready to hit his head on the steering wheel as he turned left at an intersection so they could head in the direction of the correct mountains. He knew this was going to be a _long_ drive.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"All right. I'm afraid that his is as far as I'm going to be able to drive," Ian finally said a couple of hours later, slowing the van to a stop and turning it off. "We'll have to go on foot from here."

The van had been useful to them, taking them up the gently sloping trail almost to the top of the mountain. But now, the trail was getting too rocky while the snowy forest was getting too dense, and the English man didn't trust the van to take them any further, especially going downhill. The chance that there would be hidden ice was too great, and he didn't want to take the risk.

"All right, everyone out," Powell ordered, hitting Dustin's arm to wake him up as he did the same with Riley's head. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauties!"

Dustin mumbled incoherently to himself as he unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of the van, Riley, Abigail, and Clara following slowly after. Ian sighed as he locked the van and put the keys in his pocket, looking behind him at the trail that sloped a little upward before going back down. "Well, is everyone ready?"

Clara looked up at Powell, who stood beside her. "Could I have another piggy-back ride, Uncle Powell?" she asked quietly and unsurely. "I thought it was kinda fun last time…"

Powell raised his gaze from the eight-year-old to look at Ian, giving him a look that read, "Can I?" Ian laughed a little and shrugged, leaving the decision up to him. Abigail shook her head with disbelief when she heard her daughter call another one of Ian's men "uncle." Who was going to be next, Ian himself? But Riley just appeared hurt. He was used to being her only uncle…

"It's okay, Uncle Riley," Clara suddenly muttered with a smile as she squeezed his hand, somehow able to read his expression. "You're still my favorite uncle."

Riley smiled when he heard her statement, nodding to Powell when his questioning gaze turned to him. Feeling as though he now had permission, he lifted Clara up and carefully put her onto his back, making sure that she had a tight hold around his neck and that he had his right arm under her so she was still.

"_Now_ is everyone ready?" Ian asked once Clara was safely on Powell's back. When he didn't get any protests, he turned and began to walk up the path. "Come on then. Let's try to reach the house before nightfall."

The climb up the rest of the mountain trail wasn't too bad, but the journey down was more treacherous. The trail grew a little steeper as it sloped down, and there were patches of ice everywhere, either visible or hidden. As they slowly made their way down, gingerly testing the ground before them, Abigail stepped tentatively on to the small rock ledge that she had to climb down from. Ian, Nick, and Dustin had made it down without incident, a fact that gave her more confidence.

But suddenly, Abigail gasped as her foot landed on a hidden patch of ice that no other foot had touched, and her eyes widened in horror as he nearly fell of the ledge. Ian quickly turned around when he heard her gasp, and he reached up to grab her arm and steadied her so she wouldn't fall. Shaking, Abigail clung to his shoulders tightly as the English man put his arm around her waist and gently lowered her down.

"Careful, Powell," Ian then warned, worried especially since he was still carrying Clara on his back. The young girl closed her eyes as she tightened her hold around Powell's neck, but with Ian and Nick helping from the front and Riley from the back, Powell and Clara made it down without incident. Then, Ian helped Riley down from the ledge, and the rest of the group continued their downhill journey.

Traveling went well for some time since they now had more trees to hold on to as they made their way down, and finally, they had only about one-fourth of the trail to go until they reached the bottom. "Almost there, everyone," Ian continued to offer encouragement as they walked. "Just a little bit more to go…"

Suddenly, Riley cried out in surprise when he slipped on a patch of ice, missed grabbing on to a tree to keep from falling, and fell hard on his butt as he began to slide down the hill. "Watch out, Powell!" Riley shouted in warning, but he was too late. He crashed into Powell's legs, causing him to fall on to his stomach with Clara still on his back, and they continued sliding downward. They soon crashed into Abigail and then Dustin, all moving at a hurriedly quickening speed toward Nick and Ian. The five of them incoherently called out in warning, but they were once again too late. As soon as Nick and Ian turned around to see what was going on, they fell on the ground as they slid down the trail, tumbling over each other as they flailing limb hit trees when they went by them until they made it all the way down and lay sprawled at the base of the mountain.

"Well, that was _one_ way of getting down," Ian muttered to himself as he tried to catch his breath, the others doing the same around him.

"Damn it, Riley! Be more careful!" Dustin exclaimed angrily as he pushed himself to his feet, stumbling a little due to the rough trip down the last bit of the trail.

"Sorry," Riley said to everyone in apology, hearing moans and groans in return as they tried to move.

Ian then got to his feet, helping Nick and Riley up while Powell did the same with Abigail and Clara. "Is everyone all right?" the English man asked.

"A bit sore and shaken up, but I think we're okay," Powell answered for the group while Abigail nodded in agreement. Clara held on to his arm tightly, but she also nodded.

"Where are we anyway?" Nick wondered, rubbing his sore neck as he tried to stretch it out a little.

Ian took a couple of steps into the trees that still surrounded them, something soon catching his eye. "I see something ahead," he announced. "Come on."

The rest of the group followed the English man nervously, the trees growing darker as the sun continued to quickly set. Then, they entered a clearing, and they saw a small house sitting at the far end. "Powell. Two please," Ian said.

Knowing what he was talking about, Powell reached into his bag and pulled out what appeared to be two torches, only smaller. Ian took them and lit them with his lighter, handing one to Riley and the other back to Powell. "You have mini torches?" Riley asked with a smile, examining it. "That's awesome!"

"They don't die very quickly, and they're lighter to carry than flashlights," Ian explained, reaching into his pocket and unfolding the map that Riley had given him. "Powell, let me use your light."

Once Powell provided him with enough light, Ian carefully studied the map of Siberia and then looked up at the house. "This is it," he muttered, folding up the map again and putting it back in his pocket. "This is the place. Come on. Let's hurry and find the journal."

The group hurried up to the house and found the front door unlocked. Since it was a house in the middle of nowhere that was no longer in use, it wasn't too much of a surprise. As they split up and did a quick scan of the first floor, they found it to be completely empty except for the many layers of dust that had collected over the years.

Which meant that whatever they were looking for was on the second story. Ian and Powell led the way up the stairs, and after a quick search, they found one door to be locked. The English man quickly picked it, having gained experience from the van, and he, Riley, Dustin, and Abigail entered the room, leaving Nick, Powell, and Clara still standing watch in the hall.

The room appeared to have been a study when the house's occupant was still alive with empty bookshelves lining the walls and a desk sitting beneath the dirty window. "Check it," Ian told Dustin while Riley walked around the room, providing light.

The older Poole sighed as he approached the desk and tried to pull open the only drawer without success. "It's locked," Dustin announced.

Ian rushed forward with Riley and Abigail close behind him, and he knelt down and began to pick the lock on the desk. It took a little longer than the door had since this lock seemed to be ancient, but he soon got it to unlock. Ian stood back up and exchanged an apprehensive look with Riley, Abigail, and Dustin before he pulled the drawer open.

Inside was a thick, black leather book. Ian carefully reached in and pulled it out, able to tell by how fragile it was that it was very old. He carefully ran his hand along the edge of the pages, feeling how rough they were. His eyes shone with excitement. This must have been Rasputin's journal.

"Look," Riley muttered, pointing to the rest of the contents of the drawer, which were many glass vials of different sizes- more of Rasputin's artifacts. That was all the proof they needed to know that this was what they were looking for.

"Ready?" Ian asked in a whisper. When he saw the three of them nod, he carefully opened the wrinkled, yellow pages, and his heart sank.

Everything was written in Russian.

Dustin swore quietly as he left the desk and strode toward the door, Ian quickly following him after he put the journal in his bag. "What's wrong?" Nick wondered, taking a step away from the balcony railing he was leaning against.

But Dustin only shoved past him, and Nick gasped as the railing behind him creaked a little as he stumbled into it, beginning to lose his balance. Ian shoved Dustin away from his stepbrother, quickly turning and grabbing Nick's arm to steady him. "What is your problem, Dustin?" the English man demanded, keeping himself between Nick and the older Poole when he turned to face him.

"Being here is my problem!" Dustin told him heatedly, turning away from him before hurrying down the stairs with the rest of the group behind him. Abigail picked up Clara and held her close to her, hanging back more as Dustin's voice rose. "Why are we even here, Ian? Why are we doing this? Why do _we_ have to be the ones that have to save the world?"

"Of course _you_ would want to quit right now and go home, Dustin!" Riley spat, pushing past Ian to stand before his brother, though he found himself yelling at his back. "You murdered your own father in cold blood! You betrayed your only brother! You nearly killed your best friend! Why should the rest of the world mean anything to you as long as you get what you want?!"

Suddenly, Dustin whirled around and forcefully punched Riley in the jaw. Clara screamed as she watched her uncle fall to the hard, dusty floor, and Abigail gasped in horror as she covered her mouth with her free hand. Powell and Nick quickly rushed forward and held Dustin back, preventing him from striking the younger Poole again. Ian's eyes traveled from Dustin to Riley and back, filled with both shock and disgust. He remembered the times he had gotten angry at Nick while they grew up together, but he would _never_ even _think_ bout hitting him to try and hurt him…

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Riley!" Dustin cried, tears burning in his eyes as he watched his younger brother slowly turn over on to his back to look up at him. "Why is everything so black and white for you? You leave no room for anything in between! For being as clever as you are with a computer, you never stop and think, do you? You think I don't know what I've done?! It haunts me every time I sleep, every time I have to look into your eyes! I suffer with the burden of what happened every day! And after all I've done, I have nothing to show for it but a ruined life!"

Suddenly, Nick cried out in pain, and his grip on Dustin relaxed as he fell to the floor. Powell let go of the older Poole as well as he knelt down next to him as Ian rushed forward to his side, and Dustin looked down at them in horror.

"Nick, what's wrong?" Ian asked anxiously, placing his hand on his stepbrother's head. But he recognized the way he was holding his right side, and he dreaded the answer.

"My… scar… burns…" Nick muttered in answer through his gasps, wincing in pain even when Powell put his hand on his back comfortingly.

"I thought it only hurt when you dreamed about it," Clara said with worry from her mother's arms, her voice shaking form the crying she had done during her uncle's argument, the tears now renewed due to her new uncle's sudden pain.

"I thought so too," Ian whispered, tightening his hand around Nick's when he let out another pained cry.

Dustin watched his best friend with mounting fear. He too remembered the nights that Nick would wake up because his scar from the gunshot wound would hurt him as Ian sat up with him. Powell may have slept through the attacks, but he had been awake every time with his back turned to the stepbrothers, able to secretly hear everything that happened. It was a dreadful sight, and he knew that it was all _his_ fault. He had caused this and brought his horrible pain upon Nick, his closest, most trusted friend. It was too much for him to bear. Dustin suddenly turned away from them and left the abandoned house, and Riley pushed himself to his feet and followed him.

When he heard that he wasn't alone in the clearing, the older Poole stopped and turned around. "Why are you following me, Riley?" he asked, only able to see his brother in the light now coming from the nearly full moon.

"I… I don't know, Riley answered truthfully, rubbing his jaw where it still hurt from where Dustin had punched him.

Before Dustin could reply, they heard a soft footstep in the trees around them and a familiar laugh. The older Poole took out his gun and fired a warning shot in the general direction the sound had come from, hoping to scare the Russian man away. When they heard the sound of the gun from inside the house, the rest of the group ran outside into the clearing to see what was happening, Nick being supported by Ian and Powell. But they stayed close to the house, not getting too close to the brothers since Dustin had his gun out.

Suddenly, Powell yelled out in warning. Riley and Dustin quickly turned when they heard it, watching with surprise as Ivan walked out of the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. He raised his right arm, and they saw with fear that he had a gun in his hand. Dustin swore to himself when he saw that he had no more bullets in his own weapon, and he turned to the Russian man nervously. Before he could even figure out what was happening, Riley gasped in horror when he saw that the weapon was trained on him, and before he could react, the gun was fired.

**A/N**: Sorry, I thought it was time that I threw you all an evil cliffie! I hoped you enjoyed this long, eventful chapter! I really liked how it turned out personally. I hope you did too! Let me know, okay? Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer**: As I've said before, if I owned them, I would be off in Russia with them and finding this cure thing. But, it would really suck to be in the situation they're in now…

**A/N**: I'm so, so sorry for the long wait, you guys! I just got back from a Mission Trip in Cincinnati, OH, where I was for the past week with no internet or writing time. I had this chapter completed before I left, but I had no time to submit it like I hoped I would, and I had a busy weekend as soon as I came back. Again, my deepest apologies. Oh, and also upon the urging of **daisyduke80**, I have put on pictures of actors that are somewhat close to how I picture the characters of Nick, Dustin, and Clara. They can be found on my profile toward the top where my video links are, so feel free to check them out! Thanks to **Halo** for figuring them out with me! Thank you so much to **Receneck**, **LoremIpsum**, **daisyduke80**, **Halo**, **LupinandHarry**, **broadwaylover07**, **Thuraya Known**, **fallen.leaves19**, **All-English Reject**, **Miss Fenway**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, and **SgtGroganSG** for your patience and fantastic reviews. I really appreciate it! So, since I've kept you waiting long enough, here's the next chapter!

**Warning**: Major character death. Yeah, sorry, guys. Someone's going to die in this chapter! I feel so mean doing it, but it had to be done…

Chapter 19

_"So far away, we wait for the day_

_For the light source so wasted and gone_

_We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days_

_Through the fire and the flames we carry on!"_

Ben sighed with worry as he approached the hospital, driving slowly into the parking lot as he searched for a spot to park. Form the airport, he had taken a taxi to his home, switched immediately to his car, and left as soon as he could. But when he finally found a spot and turned down the radio he had previously been blaring to try to clear his head before finally turning off the car when he found a parking spot, he sighed when he saw that it was a little after eight at night- later than he had hoped to arrive.

The treasure hunter knew that he had never been closer to a mental breakdown than he was at the moment he stepped out of the car and locked it behind him. His present worry for his dad's health was clashing with the constant concern about whether or not everyone was all right back in Russia, both warring to be at the front of his mind. But Ben knew that his worry for his dad would be put to rest when he saw him, and he knew that his family was perfectly fine back in Russia since Ian was a strong leader, and Riley was watching over Abigail and Clara. Everything was going to be fine.

Ben turned off his cell phone as he entered the hospital lobby before he asked to see Patrick Gates, and he was soon headed in the right direction toward his dad's room. A kind nurse opened the door for him with a smile, and he quietly entered the room.

The first thing he saw was his father lying asleep in the white-sheeted bed, tubes entering his nose to push oxygen into him, more cords attached to his chest to keep track of his heart rate, and an IV inserted into the crook of his arm. Ben sighed sadly when he saw Patrick in this condition and his gaze traveled to his mother, sitting in a chair beside him with red, tear-stained eyes as she tightly held his hand.

"Mom," he whispered, not wanting to startle her or to wake his sleeping father.

Emily looked up at the sound of his voice, and she stood up and hugged Ben tightly. "How is he?" Ben pressed, anxious to hear any more news- good or bad.

"Well, he hasn't woken up yet," Emily told him, rubbing her as she released her son. "But the doctors told us that we got him here just in time, which we're grateful for. I think I told you that it wasn't major, but they're checking for any signs of trauma or any other physical injuries. So far they haven't found anything yet, but we still haven't left him."

"Who's _we_?" Ben asked curiously. As far as he knew, only his mother had gone with Patrick to the hospital.

Before Emily could answer, the door to the hospital room opened. "I'm sorry I was gone for so long, Emily. I had to sit out there to drink my coffee. Why don't you get something to refresh yourself? You could probably use it."

Ben smiled when he heard the familiar voice as he turned to face the man that had entered the room. "Sadusky," he muttered in greeting.

"Yes. Peter has been very supportive this whole time since he found out that I called in Patrick's heart attack," Emily said with a small smile of her own. "He hasn't left me or Patrick once."

"Nice to see that you made it here, Ben," Sadusky told the treasure hunter as he shook his hand. "But I am surprised that you didn't bring Abigail or Riley with you."

"Well, that's a rather long story," Ben replied with a slight laugh, but beneath the laughter, his tone was serious. "Mom, why don't you go get something to drink?"

Emily sighed as she crossed her arms. "Well… all right. I guess I will," she muttered. "But I'll be back soon." She then kissed Ben's cheek and squeezed Sadusky's hand warmly before leaving the room. Once he was sure that she was gone after the door closed, the FBI agent turned to face the treasure hunter with confusion.

"What's going on, Ben?" Sadusky asked. "Emily told me that you, Abigail, Riley, and Clara had gone to St. Petersburg, Russia. Is that true?"

"Yeah," Ben answered with a nod. "That's actually where the rest of my family still is. I'm only here until I make sure my dad is okay. I'll be heading back whenever I know that."

Sadusky sighed, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "As a federal agent and a friend, Ben, I need to know what's going on," he said quietly. "Tell me everything."

* * *

Riley closed his eyes in fear when he saw that the gun had been directed at him when it was fired, expecting to feel the pain of the bullet as it tore through him. He couldn't believe it. He was going to die in Russia in front of his niece and without his best friend with min. Riley had always known since he had agreed to go on his first hunt with Ben to find _The Charlotte_ that there was a high chance that his death was going to come about due to one of their crazy treasure hunts, but he had always pictured it being with Ben right by his side. It hadn't been such a scary thought that way, but now the horror was almost too much to bear, as he suddenly felt very alone.

But he was confused when he still didn't feel any pain. Shouldn't the bullet have hit him by now? Shouldn't he have been dead? But if he wasn't, why was he still hearing screams of terror? Riley sighed and took the chance to slowly and cautiously open his eyes.

He immediately wished he hadn't, for what he saw terrified him.

The gun had been fired in his direction, the bullet had been released, but he had not been hit because of the person that was standing directly in front of him. Dustin was only able to stand for a couple of seconds longer before his own gun dropped from his hand, and he collapsed to the grass.

Riley felt a strangled cry of horror and shock rip forcefully from his throat when he realized what had happened as he dropped to his knees by his side and carefully turned his brother onto his back. He had hated Dustin for the past eight years, hated him because of the things he had done. But now, now that he looked at his deathly pale face and the bullet that was buried deep in his chest as he heard the irregular gasps coming from him, he suddenly hated himself for allowing the rage he felt toward the older Poole to overtake him. Dustin was his brother, his only blood relative left, and he had just saved his life by taking the bullet that was meant for him.

"Dustin?" Riley asked quietly in a shaking voice, feeling tears beginning to form in his eyes. He didn't know if he could ever repay him for what he had done, or if he would even get the chance to try.

When he heard the quiet sound of his name, Dustin slowly opened his eyes. His clouded gaze finally landed on the shaking form of Riley, and his smiled slightly. "I didn't expect it to… end this way… little brother…" he muttered with a little difficulty.

"Don't say things like that," Riley told him in protest. "It's going to be all right." Though he knew just by looking at the older man that it wasn't.

Dustin laughed a little, the action ending in a violent fit of coughing. "I don't expect you to… forgive me for anything I've done, Riley," he whispered.

Riley gasped quietly, putting his hand firmly on Dustin's shoulder. "Don't be dumb. You're my brother, and… I… I…" The younger Poole cursed heatedly at his inability to find the right words. If he didn't have much time left… "I do forgive you, Dustin. We're family, and that's what family does. I'm so sorry… for how I've acted so ignorantly towards you…"

"Stop it, Riley," Dustin interrupted as he grabbed his brother's hand tightly, speaking becoming more difficult for him. "I deserved the treatment you gave me… and I just wanted to say that I… I'm sorry for everything… Riley…"

Then, the techie's eyes widened when he felt his brother's hand release his as his head lolled limply to the grass, his eyes closed. "Dustin?" Riley asked cautiously, brushing his black hair out of his face. "Dustin! _Dustin_!"

At that moment, Riley knew that Dustin was dead. Forfeiting the fight on trying to keep his tears back, the younger Poole bent down and placed his head on his brother's lifeless shoulder, many different emotions coming over him as he sobbed- anger, burning hatred, grief, confusion. Now, his entire family was gone, at least the ones that were related to him by blood. He heard familiar screams coming from the house, but Riley ignored them. The only thought on his mind at the moment was that Dustin was gone, dead because of his final act of redemption.

Then, he felt a shadow fall over him, and Riley slowly raised his head and saw that Ivan was standing over him with his gun aimed directly at his forehead. Before he could react, the techie cried out in pain when the Russian man raised the heavy weapon and hit him on the side of the head with it, the last thing Riley saw as he fell to the grass his lifeless older brother before his eyes also closed.

* * *

Abigail covered her mouth again in horror when she saw the completely unexpected redeeming act Dustin had done, setting Clara down beside her as tears filled her own eyes when she saw Riley's heartbreaking response. Nick looked at the older Poole in disbelief, the realization of what happened slowly hitting him like a forceful punch in the stomach. Ever since they had broken out of jail, he had felt like he had been losing Dustin. But in the last, agonizing few minutes when he jumped in front of Riley and took the bullet to save him, he saw his old best friend again. And the fact that he was now dead was tearing him apart from the inside out. Ian sighed heavily, running his hand through his hair. Even though he had never gotten along well with Dustin, he had still lost another member of his team. First, it had been Shaw. Then, it had almost been Nick. And now, it was Dustin. He couldn't help but wonder who was going to be next.

"Goodbye, Sunshine," Powell muttered sadly, and with his quiet statement, the grim reality of Dustin's death settled in everyone's minds. Clara clung tightly to Abigail, still not fully understanding exactly what had transpired.

Ian checked his pockets to search for his cell phone so he could leave Ben a message, but he son found with dread that it wasn't there. He sighed again when he realized that he had left it on the dashboard on the van that they had "borrowed." "Abigail, let me borrow your phone," he muttered.

Abigail looked over at him with tears shining in her eyes as she reached into her pocket and pulled her cell phone out, turning it on before handing it to the English man. "It's low on battery, so make it fast," she warned.

"Thank you." Ian smiled a little when he saw that Ben's cell phone number was the first on her speed dial, but then he looked above him nervously as he waited for it to ring. Unfortunately, it went straight to the voicemail.

_"Hey, this is Ben. I'm not here right now, so please leave your name and a brief message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks."_

"Ben, it's Ian," the English man said quickly and anxiously as he began to leave his message. "Listen, you have to come back to Russia as soon as you can. We-!"

Suddenly, Abigail screamed at the same time he heard the sound of a door opening, and Ian paused. But before he could turn to look at her, the cell phone went dead. The English man swore to himself, turning to give Abigail her phone back, but his eyes widened with horror.

The two blond brothers that worked for Artem had come through the house from the back and opened the front door, separating Ian and Clara from the rest of the smaller group. He watched as Powell and Nick, now gaining his strength back, led Abigail back into the trees, with Dimitri, the older of the two brothers, following them with his gun.

Then, Clara screamed as Sacha appeared in front of them, aiming his gun at them threateningly. Ian stuffed the phone in his pocket as he grabbed Clara's hand, pulling her along with him as he ran around the Russian man- a move that their adversary hadn't been expecting. Sacha then raised his gun and fired a warning shot after them. The eight-year-old screamed when the bullet barely missed them and as Ian picked her up into his arms so he could cover her better and also run faster.

"I'm scared, Uncle Ian," Clara whispered into his shoulder as tears fell from her eyes.

Ian was caught off-guard by the sudden title, but the way she sounded so terrified gave him fresh determination, along with the second shot that was fired at them. The English man put on an extra burst of speed and dove into a dense patch of trees that was at the baste of the mountain, using the darkness to his advantage. He held his breath as Sacha came near to them, holding Clara's head against his chest in a protective manner to cover her from any more possible bullets and to hopefully quiet her shaking breaths so they wouldn't be discovered.

Then, Ian breathed a sigh of relief and placed his head back against the mountain when Sacha passed them and began to go up the mountain trail in the direction that his older brother had gone. He then released Clara and set her on the grass once he was sure that the Russian man was gone. "All right. I want you to stay hidden here where it's safe," he told her. "Can you do that for me?"

Clara nodded mutely, but she reached forward and grabbed on to Ian's arm as he stood up to leave. The English man smiled as he knelt down in front of her again, brushing some of her blonde waves out of her sweat-drenched face. "I just need you to stay here for a little bit until one of us comes back for you, all right, luv? I'm going back to get your Uncle Riley."

When she heard her favorite uncle's name, Clara released Ian's arm from her death grip and silently watched him climb out of the patch of trees. "Remember to stay quiet," she heard him whisper before his footsteps faded away.

For the first time in her life, Clara felt as though she was truly alone. Her breathing began to quicken as she felt the darkness begin to close in around her. She desperately wanted to be with her mom or dad, or even one of her uncles. Anything would have been better than being alone.

But then, Clara noticed that there was a small tunnel opening in the base of the mountain in the slight moonlight filtering through the trees. Curious, she began to slowly move toward it. Then, she jumped when she heard a gunshot come from the mountain above her, and her fear of the mean men with the guns driving her forward, Clara crawled quickly into the tunnel.

* * *

Powell led the way up the mountain trail with Nick and Abigail close behind, supporting each other as they came to the patches of hidden ice. They could hear footsteps behind them, and they knew that at least one of the Russian brothers was close behind.

They soon reached a large rock on the side of the path, and the three had to stop for a minute to catch their breath. The mountain trail was eerily silent around them besides the sounds of their ragged breathing- no footsteps, no voices, nothing.

"Do you think we lost him?" Powell cautiously ventured to wonder. Nick shrugged in answer, laying his head against the rock for a moment as he closed his eyes.

Suddenly, Abigail gasped as she quickly whirled around when she heard a twig snap in half, and she watched as Dimitri appeared from the trees behind her. He raised his gun and quickly fired it, and she cried out in pain as the bullet sunk into her right leg beneath her knee, and she fell to the icy path.

"Abigail!" Nick shouted with worry, watching as she slid down past Dimitri and out of sight. He pushed himself off the rock, stumbling down the path after her with Powell right behind. They soon found her clinging on to a tree to keep from sliding farther down, and they knelt down next to her.

"Hold on, Abigail," Powell muttered, gently pulling her away from the tree and supporting her with one arm. Then, he pulled out his gun with his other hand when he heard footsteps, and he saw that Dimitri had found them, and Sacha now joined him as he climbed down toward them. He fired a shot at them, but then he swore and threw the gun to the path when he realized that it was his only shot left.

"Didn't you reload it?" Nick asked, realizing the problem that had presented itself. He was beginning to start to regret the fact that he didn't carry a gun himself.

"I didn't get the chance," Powell answered angrily, trying to cover the injured Abigail as best as he could as the Russian brothers came nearer. "We couldn't take our guns out in front of Clara, remember?"

Nick's eyes widened. "So what do we do then?" He was sure that it would be nearly impossible to run from them with Abigail in her condition.

Powell glanced around wildly, and then he picked up a large rock from the trail and threw it. Nick realized what he was doing and began to do the same. With both of them throwing stones at Dimitri and Sacha, they were able to slow them down, but they also knew that it wouldn't work for long. The Russian men had guns, and they could tell that they were getting angry.

Finally, Dimitri had enough. He rushed forward ahead of his younger brother, aiming his gun at the trio. Powell covered Abigail with his arms and put himself in front of Nick, preparing to protect them from the worst since he didn't want to be killed by Ben or Ian if one of them got hurt even worse.

Suddenly, two more gunshots rang out in the night air, but they didn't come from Dimitri's gun. Both Dimitri and Sacha fell to the path, holding their now bleeding legs as they cried out in pain. Then, whoever had done the shooting came down to where they were and hit them both over the heads, and they were silenced as they were knocked unconscious. Powell slowly lowered his arm as Nick cautiously looked out from behind him while Abigail watched curiously, cringing when her own leg began to throb painfully. Then, they all closed their eyes tightly and turned their heads away when a bright flashlight bean landed on them.

"Are you guys all right?" The question sounded friendly enough, and didn't carry a Russian accent.

Powell was the first to look back at who had saved them. He recognized the man's voice before he saw his face, and he smiled in disbelief while Abigail sighed warily from his arms.

"I don't believe it."

* * *

Ian ran back into the clearing as fast as he could, coming to a stop by Dustin's motionless body as he searched for the younger Poole. "Riley!" he shouted anxiously when he didn't see him anywhere. "Riley!"

Then, he covered his head and knelt down on the grass when a gun was fired in his direction, but he slowly looked up when he heard a taunting laugh. "You're too late, Mr. Howe."

The English man gasped when he saw that Ivan was standing on the edge of the opposite side of the clearing, a motionless Riley lying over his shoulder. "No!" Ian exclaimed, standing up to run toward them. He wouldn't lose someone else.

Ivan only laughed again, stepping back into the trees and disappearing into the shadows. Then, Ian stopped when he heard car doors opening and closing before the vehicle started, the sound soon fading away into silence. He truly _had_ been too late to save Riley…

Ian sighed heavily with defeat, slowly walking back toward Dustin's body. He cried out in frustration as he sat down beside him in the place that Riley had previously occupied, sighing as his gaze traveled up to the moon in the night sky above as if to silently ask for some form of guidance from someone who might hear. Not only had Dustin been killed, but now Riley had been captured by the same man who had taken his older brother's life. And God only knew what was happening with Powell, Nick, and Abigail. At least he knew that Clara, at least, was safe.

But he knew that no matter what happened now, he had failed. He had failed to keep everyone safe, and there was nothing that he could have done to prevent it.

**A/N**: All right, so there you have it! Sorry it bounced around a lot, but I had to let you guys know what happened to everyone, right? And Dustin's death was kinda sad, I thought, since it was his form of apologizing to Riley. And now, Riley's in Ivan's "oh-so-capable" hands. You'll have to see what happens next time! Oh, and if you wanted to look up something more light-hearted by me, check out the story "I Can't Believe We're Doing This," which is co-written by **Halo** and I. I think it's funny, and I think you'll get some laughs out of it too! And the song I used at the beginning of this chapter was "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce. If you haven't heard it and want to, don't look up the music video since they cut out about two minutes of the song. Find it in a different way, because I think it's a very good song and is worth listening to! So, thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer**: They're not mine, but I guess the only two characters that belong to me besides the evil baddies are Clara and Nick. Sniffle for Dustin…

**A/N**: Hey! Since I tortured you all and didn't update for a long time before, I decided that I would update quick so that it hopefully makes up for it. Unfortunately, this chapter isn't really exciting or that long. It's kind of a wind-down chapter, a chapter that's shorter and slightly more of a transition where everyone kinda "cools down" after what happened. But don't worry, the next chapter will be longer! So, thank you so much to **fallen.leaves.19**, **SgtGroganSG**, **broadwaylover07**, **daisyduke80**, **Halo**, **Receneck**, **LupinandHarry**, **Thuraya Known**, **FillyRSA**, **Miss Fenway**, **myloveimfaithfullyyours**, **Spellinggirl**, and **momiji'sunusedhalo** for your wonderful reviews for that awfully sad but exciting chapter. Oh, and the good news is, we've reached and surpassed 200 reviews, which means that I might just give you guys a little surprise! So, enjoy this chapter! I promise the next one will be better!

Chapter 20

Ian slowly looked over his shoulder when he heard footsteps behind him, seeing that Powell and Nick were walking toward him. He was alarmed to see that Abigail was being carried by the older man, blood staining her jeans on her right leg. "What happened?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"Dimitri shot her," Powell answered heavily as he stopped in front of the English man. He ignored the piercing look that Abigail gave him, which read, 'I can answer for myself, thank you.' "It's not critical, but it still has to be taken care of in case of infection. Nick and I weren't seriously hurt, but that's only because someone got your messages and came at just the right time. Let's just say that it was a good thing he came. I had no idea you even contacted him, Ian!"

For the first time in a while, a true smile appeared on Ian's face when he saw the man that Powell was talking about. "Oh, good. I'm glad you got the coordinates in time," he said with relief. "I mean, I told you that we were heading to Siberia before, but Siberia is a big place. We could have been anywhere."

"Yeah, thanks for sending those, Ian. I probably wouldn't have found Powell so quickly if you hadn't," Phil replied, smiling slightly as he shook Ian's hand in greeting. "Haven't you called Viktor? He could probably help out a lot in this situation since he knows the language."

"We couldn't get a hold of him," Ian replied. "But thanks for coming all the way out here, Phil. We could really use the help." He couldn't believe that he was admitting it, but after the loss of Dustin and Riley's capture, help, as well as hope, was wearing pretty thin.

Phil's smile broadened. "Of course, man. I'll do anything I can to help, you know that," he told him.

Ian laughed a little. "Well, I hope you mean that and don't mind the risk of being thrown back in prison," he warned the taller man. "Nick, Powell, and I are still wanted, and you're now one of our associates. You were released only a couple of months ago, so…"

But Phil only brushed the threat off. "Nah, I don't mind," he assured him. "What's the fun of a hunt without a little risk involved?"

"I'm glad you feel that way," Ian muttered with a grim smile. "Oh, you've met Nick, haven't you?"

Phil nodded. "Yeah, Powell introduced me to your American little brother on our walk down here," he said. "And it was definitely a surprise to see Abigail again too, especially with you guys and without Gates and Riley."

"Yeah, and it was great to see another one of the guys that shot at me," Abigail growled in return. But then, her eyes narrowed with concern as she looked around the area and noticed that some people were missing. "Where are Clara and Riley?"

Ian sighed heavily. "Clara's still safely in hiding, but I was too late to get to Riley," he explained. "Ivan took him."

"He's not… he's not _dead_, is he?" Powell asked quietly, dreading the answer. The Russian man had already killed the older of the two Poole brothers, and he hoped that it wasn't in their plan to do the same with the younger.

"I'm sure not, Powell. Think about it for a minute," Ian answered him. "Ivan wouldn't have taken him if he was dead. They want him alive."

"Where's Clara hiding?" Abigail wondered anxiously, trying to get out of Powell's arms without success as she ignored the throbbing pain in her leg. "Can we get her back?"

Ian nodded to her. "All right. Powell and Nick, you take Abigail back to the house and take care of her leg," he ordered. "Phil, you come with me to get Clara. I'll brief you on everything while we walk."

* * *

"That's some story," Sadusky said once Ben was finished telling it. "But do you really think that the world can be saved by only three people with a little girl? That's a lot of pressure for such a small group."

"We have to try, Sadusky, though I guarantee you, I'm not a hero," Ben muttered. He had purposefully left out the fact that Ian, Powell, Nick, and Dustin were helping them so they wouldn't be put in danger f because of the FBI. "All Artem wants us to do is find this cure for the disease, and he won't release it."

Sadusky sighed as he straightened up from the wall to stand before the treasure hunter. "And what makes you think that he still won't release the disease after you give him the cure, if it even exists?" he asked. "You're dealing with a mad man, Ben, a criminal- one who has nothing to lose but everything to gain. What makes you so sure his word is truly credible?"

Ben looked away from the agent, not knowing exactly what to say to his questions. In truth, he had no answer. "If I don't do what he says, Sadusky, he'll unleash the disease," he answered quietly. "Too many people's lives are at stake. I have to try to push that off for as long as possible."

"I wish you would allow us to help you, Ben," Sadusky muttered with a sigh, placing his hand on Ben's arm. "There wouldn't be nearly as much pressure on you that way."

"I know, Sadusky, and I appreciate the thought," Ben told him with a small smile. "But Artem has stressed no police involvement before, and I can't afford to take that risk again since my family is so close to him. Not to mention you and your son would be involved, and I don't want to put you two in danger either."

Sadusky slowly nodded. "I just hope you know what you're doing, Ben."

Ben met his gaze steadily. "I'm hoping so too."

Before they could continue their conversation, the door to the hospital room opened, and Emily entered. "I fell so much better," she stated with a small smile. "I'm glad I had that cup of coffee."

"Good, I'm glad," Sadusky told her with a smile of his own. "I'm afraid to say it, but we'll probably be in for a long night."

"I think I'm going to go call Abigail a minute to see how everything is there," Ben suddenly said. "I'll be right back." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as he left the room, walking down the hall to the one small room a cell phone could be used in so the signals wouldn't disrupt the equipment.

The first thing that the treasure hunter saw when he turned the phone on was that he had one voice message from Abigail. Ben smiled to himself, expecting to hear her telling him that she hoped all was well- that she hoped Patrick had a speedy recovery, that she gave Emily her best wishes, and that she loved him very much.

But nothing could prepare him for the anxious English accent he heard instead when he listened to the message.

"_Ben, it's Ian. Listen, you have to come back to Russia as soon as you can. We-!" _Then, there was a loud crash and the sound of Abigail's scream before the message abruptly ended.

Beginning to panic, Ben quickly dialed his wife's cell phone number, but his worry intensified when it cut straight to her voicemail. Either her phone was turned off, the battery had died, or… No, he wasn't going to think of any other options. Nothing bad had happened to Abigail. Beginning to think more clearly, Ben dialed the number of Ian's cell phone. It rang four times, but that too ended with the voicemail. Taking a deep, worried breath during the tone since he couldn't get a hold of anyone, he left his message.

"Ian, it's Ben. Hold on. I'm coming back."

* * *

"Sounds like you're dealing with a mad man," Phil stated while he and Ian walked down the pat to where Clara's hiding place was.

"Pretty much, more or less," Ian muttered in agreement. "That's what makes him so dangerous." He sighed heavily. "I just want to find this cure as fast as possible so that I can get you, Nick, and Powell out of danger. We've already lost one person on this mission, and I don't want to lose anyone else…"

Phil suddenly stopped walking, and Ian slowly did the same and turned to face the taller man. "So, we're all being shot at. Big deal. You, at least, have faced this before or even something worse," he stated. "Remember what happened beneath Trinity Church?" Ian glanced down for a moment, but looked up again when Phil didn't continue immediately.

"Powell's been on your team for more years than any of us, except for Shaw of course. I'm sure he's had to face getting a couple of shots fired at him and probably worse! And you and Shaw raised Nick in his teenage years. I'm sure living with you two, bad things happened. He's a tough kid. And my life wasn't the best before you found me, Ian, as you know. This is nothing compared to that."

"_If that disease is released,"_ Ian thought bitterly,_" none of the bad things that have happened to us won't matter."_

"We can handle ourselves, Ian," Phil concluded firmly. "Concentrate on yourself more. None of us can afford to lose you, especially now."

A small smile appeared on Ian's face despite himself. He was suddenly grateful that it was Phil he had been able to get a hold of. He wouldn't have gotten that kind of assurance from Viktor. He nodded to Phil, giving him his silent thanks. The other man understood the message, for he smiled too. Then, they continued to walk, starting to feel a little more confident again.

"Clara?" Ian called, pushing aside the trees that he had hidden her in while Phil shone his flashlight into them. But both man gasped quietly as the beam passed over the area, and they saw that Clara was gone.

* * *

Clara crawled through the tight, rocky path of the mountain tunnel, cringing when she bumped her head on the low ceiling or scraped her hand on the floor or wall. She wasn't sure why she had crawled into the tunnel to hide in the first place. It had just seemed like a good idea at the time.

But she soon felt tears beginning to form in her eyes. Now that she was alone with her thoughts, she was able to think about the things that she had wanted to forget- her grandpa being in the hospital, her dad leaving Russia to visit him, the man named Dustin punching Uncle Riley, being separated from her mother, being shot at, her Uncle Riley crying as he watched his brother, who had been mean to him before, die… She just wanted to curl up into a ball and magically appear in her own room back at home…

Suddenly, she gasped in surprise when she felt something smooth and cold under her hand. Clara slowly picked it up, and after inspecting it, felt that it was a heart-shaped locket. Wondering why something so valuable was sitting in this deep, mountain tunnel, she carefully put it around her neck. It didn't belong here in the dark.

Then, she decided that she wouldn't go any farther into the tunnel, and it would probably be a good idea to start making her way back to the entrance. But she was jerkily stopped when her jacket got caught on a rock above her. Clara tried to pull out of it, but her heart sank when she heard a loud tearing sound and felt the jacket rip off of her. Now frozen to the bone, Clara continued to crawl toward the entrance in hope that she could find her group to warm up, leaving her torn jacket behind but moving forward with her newfound treasure.

* * *

Ivan pulled to a stop in front of a large, dark house, turning off the car. He then climbed out of the driver's seat and shut the door behind him before opening the back door and pulling out the unconscious Riley, holding him in his arms with his limp head resting against his shoulder. He began to walk toward the house, but the door opened before he could even reach it, and Artem stepped out.

"Oh, good. I see it went successfully," the head Russian man said, stopping in front of Ivan.

"_Da_. Yes, though I did have to improvise a little," Ivan replied. "His brother got in the way of my gun when it was fired, and he was killed. A shame really, that he died for nothing since I was only aiming for this one's shoulder." He looked down on the motionless Riley in his arms. "But I was still able to get him here, and that's all that counts."

Artem grinned triumphantly. "That is true," he muttered. "I did tell you that all we needed was the ace to be successful in this game." He ran his hand through Riley's dark hair, not minding when the younger man subconsciously winced when the rough fingers hit the spot where Ivan's gun had connected with his skull. "I look forward to when Gates returns to see that we are one step ahead of him."

**A/N**: And I'm afraid that's all I have for this chapter, guys. But hey. Ian has found some new hope with the appearance of Phil, which should keep him going for a while in Ben's absence and even after he returns. And I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to fit Riley into this chapter, but thankfully I could squeeze him in at the end there, even though he's unconscious. Hope you liked it better than I did! Thanks for reading, guys! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer**: Okay, guys. The _National Treasure_ gang is not mine, but Clara, Nick, and Artem are mine. Again, sniffle for Dustin…

**A/N**: All right, I'm back! I'm glad that some of you seem to be checking out my other story that I'm co-writing with **Halo **"I Can't Believe We're Doing This" and like it. It really is so much fun to write! But anyway, thank you to **SgtGroganSG**, **Halo**, **daisyduke80**, **Thuraya Known**, **broadwaylover07**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **LoremIpsum**, **myloveimfaithfullyyours**, and **Miss Fenway **for your reviews for the last chapter, even though I didn't like it so much myself… But, I like this one better, and I hope you do too! This chapter is a tad more on the fluffy side in some parts, but in others it's not so fluffy. But enjoy!

Chapter 21

Ian opened the door of the house with Phil behind him, and he saw that Powell had set Abigail on one of the dusty tables, had rolled her pant leg up, and was now wrapping her injury that was right beneath her knee. Abigail continued to wince as pressure was applied to the gunshot wound, her knuckles turning white as she clenched the table, but she refused to vocalize the pain that she was obviously in.

Phil walked past the English man and approached them. "How is she?" he wondered.

Powell looked up and met his gaze. "Well, I'll say this," he replied. "She should be in the hospital so that we can get the bullet removed. It's not in too deep, but we need to get her attention as soon as we can. We'll drop her off when we get back to St. Petersburg, which is where Ian is hoping to meet Ben. But for now, I think I have the injury controlled."

"Yeah." Phil noticed that it was very painful for Abigail since there was a sheet of sweat covering her pale face.

"Where's Clara?" she still managed to hiss at him when she saw that her daughter was not in their presence.

Phil sighed heavily. "We couldn't find her," he muttered, not meeting Abigail's heated gaze. "But she has to still be in the area. She couldn't have gotten very far…"

"You _lost_ my daughter?!" Abigail demanded of both Phil and Ian, almost accidentally kicking Powell as he attempted to finish wrapping her leg. "How _could_ you?! You should have been keeping a better eye on her! You…"

Ian tuned out her continuous yelling, which had swayed into harsh German, as he searched the small living room for Nick. He soon found him sitting in a chair near the window, his face containing no expression as he appeared to be staring at nothing in particular as he watched the sun beginning to break on the horizon. Ian slowly moved over to him, pulling up another wooden but dusty chair to sit beside his stepbrother. Nick didn't even notice, or if he did, he ignored him.

"Nick, are you all right?" the older man asked quietly.

Silence. Ian sighed and looked down, feeling very worried. For all of the years since he had first met him, Nick had never been quiet like this around him. Normally, he was the only one his stepbrother shared his thoughts with, and he had never before encountered silence. He knew that something was wrong now, especially if Nick didn't even want to speak with him.

"No, not really, Ian."

Ian looked back up at his stepbrother. The statement had been so quiet that he had barely heard it, but he could plainly hear the pain in it. Then, looking into his eyes from his side angle, Ian could see that his gaze had now settled on something outside of the window. He slowly followed it, and his own eyes saddened slightly when he saw what Nick was looking at.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Dustin, Nick," Ian muttered, not sure what else to say. He hadn't really gotten along well with the older Poole, but he knew that the man had been close to Nick.

Nick sighed, finally tearing his eyes away from his best friend's motionless body but still didn't look at Ian. "I didn't even get to say goodbye," he continued so quietly that it was almost a whisper.

"Neither did I," Ian stated, thinking about the time in his life where he had been in Nick's position. When his younger stepbrother looked at him in confusion, a small but sad smile appeared on the English man's face. "Don't forget that I've lost my best friend too." He laughed slightly when he saw understanding in Nick's eyes. "You know, I always thought that when the time came for him to die, it wouldn't be something so quick. Shaw was the toughest man I have ever known, and I know that he would have put up a fight the entire way through something like that."

_Shaw_. Nick nodded slowly as he dropped his eyes from Ian's face again, creating an awkward silence between them since he didn't know how to respond to that statement. "I know how bad it hurts," the older man then said, trying to keep the younger one's attention away from Dustin's lifeless body outside. "The pain won't go away immediately, no matter how much you will it to." That statement was very true. It had been nearly ten years since Shaw had surprisingly died, and it was still just as painful for him now as the moment it had happened.

"Don't try to keep it inside, Nick," Ian concluded softly. "It will be better if you let it out."

Nick laughed a little then, but a thin line of tears had appeared in his eyes. "It all just happened so fast…"

Ian nodded to encourage him, placing his hand lightly on his shoulder to offer silent support. "I remember I met Dustin when I left you and Shaw when we went to the States," Nick continued, his voice faltering a little. "I wanted to look for my dad in hopes that I could stay with him until I could find my own place, and he agreed to help me. We didn't find him, though, because he had moved to another state. We didn't have an address, so we dropped the search, even though we had discovered that we worked well together."

He paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, Dustin and his other friends were involved in illegal activities, so I actually spent a lot of time with Riley in the first year of my friendship with him. I knew from experience with you and Shaw to not get involved in operations of questionable legality." Ian smiled slightly before Nick continued.

"But then, when one of his friends went to prison, Dustin stopped being involved in the illegal activities and began spending more time with me. I was still on somewhat shaky ground since I wasn't settled in yet, and he let me stay in the apartment he was renting with him. It went on that way for a few years, and then we began trying to think of ways to break you out of prison." Nick's eyes were filled with tears at this point, and one leaked out and rolled down his cheek.

Ian's hand tightened on his shoulder comfortingly. Nick sniffed quietly, wiping his tears away. He was glad that his older stepbrother was with him. "Did I ever tell you how Shaw and I first met?" Ian suddenly asked, trying to think of another way to distract him.

Nick slowly shook his head. He knew that the two men had met in college, but he didn't know the specifics.

"Well, as you know, Shaw and I went to the same college," Ian explained. "Even when I was that age and younger, my record wasn't exactly what you would call 'clean.' I used to sneak out of my dorm room at night and go to the vending machines, the only room on campus that had no security cameras, and would steal soda, candy, and any other snacks out of them.

"But I wasn't the only one who did this. One night when I went down, someone else was already at the vending machines and was stealing from them. It turned out to be Shaw, but of course I didn't know him at the time. We were obviously wary of each other that first time, especially since he believed he had gotten caught, so I just left without taking anything that night.

"Of course, I didn't turn Shaw in since then I would have to explain why _I_ was out at that hour of the night, and we ran into each other again the next night. He had gotten there first and was already stealing snacks when I arrived, and I began to take things that time too. He knew that he didn't have to worry about me telling on him then per se, so he left me alone.

"But some other people didn't. I always took the way that had the least amount of security, but unfortunately, Shaw didn't know about that little trick. That night, the security guards had happened to catch him sneaking through the halls on the video cameras. Luckily we heard them approaching, because I was able to lead us out another door that led to a back staircase that hardly anyone used, and we were able to escape."

Ian paused and smiled for a moment, fond of the memory. "That's when we discovered that with my quick mind and his quicker lock-picking methods, we made quite a team," he said. "We soon expanded our horizons from ripping off vending machines to other, more exciting endeavors, such as sneaking into the girls' locker room and planting spiders in it or breaking into the teachers' lounge and rearranging all the furniture. Surprisingly, we never got caught, and we were best friends ever since."

A small smile appeared on Nick's face. "I expected no less of you guys, judging by the kinds of things you did when I was living with you," he muttered.

"Our horizons did broaden even more when we were out of school, like stealing something that was highly protected from my dad as a way to test ourselves after pulling a few smaller jobs before you moved in. That's when we realized we were unstoppable," Ian agreed with another smile of his own. "But I have a feeling that we both got our starts way before we even met."

"That would make sense when it comes to you two," Nick said with a small laugh. Then, he sighed. "Thank you, Ian."

"Of course," Ian replied with a nod. Then, he blinked in surprise when Nick leaned forward and hugged him. The English man held his stepbrother close to him, hoping that the gesture would show him that things would somehow turn out all right.

But Ian sighed when he realized that the death of Dustin gave him and Nick another thing in common. Not only had both of their mothers died, but now their best friends too.

"What?" Nick wondered quietly when he pulled away from his stepbrother.

Ian ran his hand nervously through his hair, deciding to tell him another thought that had entered his mind instead so he wouldn't have to bring up Dustin again. "I was just thinking that if we don't do something soon," he muttered, "Gates is going to lose his best friend too."

* * *

Riley slowly opened his eyes, but he hissed in pain when the first thing that he felt was a sharp throb on the side of his head. Once his vision cleared and the pain subsided, he looked around and saw that he was in a stone basement with layers of dust and cobwebs everywhere, but the damp room contained no furniture. His face paled when he saw that there were dark red stains on the wall and floor across from him that looked suspiciously like blood…

But the one good thing that Riley saw about his situation was that he was not tied up in any way. The Russians had probably assumed that he was too weak to run anywhere. A big mistake they made.

Then, the techie heard the sound of a padlock being sprung open, and the wooden door beside him opened a minute later. Riley's face darkened when he saw that Artem had been the one that entered, and he curled his arms and legs protectively around him when the dark-haired man drew closer.

"Don't worry, Riley," Artem assured him, an almost cruel smirk on his face. "I will not harm a hair on your head as long as Gates continues to cooperate."

"How did you even know where to find us?" Riley asked, trying his hardest to not let his nerves show through. What would happen if Ben slipped up? He didn't want to think of the possibilities, but he also knew that it was better him in this position than Clara or Abigail…

"The same way I got your, Gates, and Mr. Howe's cell phone numbers," Artem answered as though it was obvious. "My cousin helped me. I believe you've met her, Riley."

Riley was confused for a moment, but only a moment before Artem's cousin herself came down the stairs and entered the basement. "Calina?"

"Sorry I didn't tell you before, Riley," Calina replied with a smirk of her own. "I didn't think that our friendship would last if I told you who I was related to."

"I just can't believe that you can easily accept what Artem is doing," Riley said fiercely. "You're not like him! How can you just stand by while he threatens the lives of everyone in the world?!"

Confusion appeared in Calina's eyes, but before she could say a word, Artem lashed his foot out forcefully and watched with satisfaction as it connected with the techie's head. Riley fell to the hard floor against the wall, both sides of his head now throbbing painfully from the blows he had received.

"I thought you said that you wouldn't hurt him," she muttered, watching Riley warily.

"No, Calina. I specifically said that I wouldn't harm a hair on his head, and that was clearly more than one," Artem corrected with a laugh. "And besides, Gates isn't exactly cooperating right now since he isn't even in Russia. You never know what may happen, my dear." Then, he walked over to Riley and pulled him up roughly by the arm.

"You're not leaving me down here?" the techie asked quietly, not able to hide his surprise as he was forcefully pulled along toward the door. Calina placed her hand on his arm in an almost apologetic manner when they reached her, but Riley pushed it off.

"No, I'm not," Artem answered as he began to lead the way up the stairs. "Even though two of our men have been taken out by your group, we are still a force that isn't to be messed with. If you try to run even once, there will be consequences. Our goal is not to make you the most uncomfortable prisoner, Riley." He paused on the steps and turned to the man he was dragging with him, a mad glint in his eye.

"I sure hope you know your Russian history, Mr. Poole, because we will be following it as closely as possible."

* * *

"All right, I think that will work," Powell announced as he finished the final layer of Abigail's bandage, rolling her pant leg back down. "You should be good to go for now until we can get you to a hospital."

"Good, because I'm going to go find my daughter," Abigail stated, beginning to slide off the table. But she winced when she moved her injured knee, having to stop.

Powell caught her in his arms and gently pushed her back on to the table. "I don't think it would be such a good idea for you to try walking around too much yet, Abigail," he cautioned. His eyes quickly darted around the living room, and he saw that Ian and Nick were still talking together. "You stay here with Phil. I'll go look for Clara."

Abigail looked at him for a long moment, but then she sighed in defeat when she realized that she wouldn't be able to look for Clara in her condition. "All right," she muttered, looking at Powell with a mixture of ferocity and worry. "Just don't come back until you find her."

"I won't," Powell promised, getting to his feet. He felt Nick's eyes on him curiously as he walked toward the door, but he ignored him as he stepped outside into the cold sunrise. He walked down the path that led him back into the trees as he headed toward the mountains. She couldn't have gotten far… "Clara?" he called, looking around in every area that he could. "Clara!"

"Uncle Powell?"

Powell stopped walking and anxiously searched for where the quiet voice had come from. "Clara? Where are you?"

He heard rustling ahead and took a couple of steps closer, watching as Clara pushed her way out of the trees at the base of the mountain. Her face was dirt-smudged, and she had a couple of scratches on her arms and cheeks. But most pressing, she wasn't wearing a coat.

"God, Clara, you nearly gave us all a heart attack!" Powell stated when he saw that she looked shaken, running forward to meet her. He then took off his leather jacket and wrapped it around her before picking her up into his arms. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get you back where you belong."

Clara didn't say anything in response, but she snuggled deeper into Powell's warm, sturdy arms. She rested her head on his shoulder, letting out a shuddering breath as they began to make their way back to the house.

* * *

Ben sighed as he leaned back in his seat while the plane took off from the airport, remembering the conversations he had with his mother and the FBI agent before he had left the hospital. He had told them that he regretted not being able to stay longer, but there was some sort of urgent matter that he had to take care of in St. Petersburg. Emily had wished him luck and told him to try to contact her as soon as things got settled down. Sadusky had once again offered to go along with him to Russia, and Ben had once again declined the offer, stressing no police involvement.

The treasure hunter was very worried about his family since he hadn't been able to get a hold of Abigail or Ian, and he only hoped that his wife, Clara, Riley, and even the English man and his men were safe.

But as the plane got steady in the air, Ben instantly wished that he would get there earlier than the next afternoon. There was a feeling deep in his heart that told him everything had gone horribly wrong as soon as he had left, and it may have been something that he couldn't set right.

**A/N**: Do you guys know your Russian history? If you do, then you may have a pretty good idea about what Artem has in store for Riley. If not, well then you can guess along with Riley! Amongst the fluff of one of the parts, there was also something _critically_ important that you may be able to find. Go back through if you need to, but there is something important in the big fluffy moment that needs to be paid attention to! And even though it's hard to say, the end is in sight for this story. There will be five more chapters plus an epilogue, and since we've surpassed 200 reviews, I'll throw in a little something at the end. Oh, and also, keep an eye out for my humor oneshot story "Road Trip" for _National Treasure_ that will hopefully be on soon! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer**: Nothing is mine, blah, blah, blah…

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! I can't believe that this story is almost done already! I'm glad you guys have enjoyed this so much- believe me, I'm loving it too! Thanks so much for all of your support for it, guys! And I'm glad that some of you have checked out "Road Trip" and "I Can't Believe We're Doing This" and like those too! It means a lot, thank you so much! All right, thank you to **broadwaylover07**, **Halo**, **daisyduke80**, **LupinandHarry**, **LoremIpsum**, **Thuraya Known**, **Spellinggirl**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, and **Miss Fenway** for your awesome reviews! Oh, and by the way, I've decided that my surprise at the end will get better with the more reviews I get, so yeah. Keep it in mind, and here's the next chapter!

Chapter 22

Patrick Gates slowly opened his eyes as a tired groan escaped from him. The lights above him were incredibly bright, so he had to instantly close them again. But then, he felt two warm, very familiar hands wrap securely around his left one, and he cautiously ventured to open his eyes again. "Emily?" he asked quietly, his voice weak as he recognized the figure above him that was now blocking the intense lights.

Emily smiled and laughed a little, relieved that her husband was finally awake. "Yes, Patrick. I'm here," she answered, squeezing his hand. "Everything's going to be all right."

But Patrick's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Em, why are you crying?" he said, for he saw tears shining in her eyes and gently falling down her cheeks. He raised his free hand up and wiped away the ones that had fallen.

"I'm just worried about Ben, Patrick," Emily explained, her voice faltering as more tears formed in her eyes. "He said there was some sort of urgent matter that had come up in Russia, which is why he had to leave so soon…"

"I'm sure everything will be okay, Em," Patrick tried to assure her, tightening his hand around hers. "It always ends up being fine, no matter how bad things seem right now."

Emily nodded, but she still didn't seem very convinced as more tears leaked from her eyes. "I just have the bad feeling that it's some kind of emergency," she muttered, her voice now shaking. "Things aren't right, Patrick, I know they're not."

As Patrick continued to comfort his upset wife, Agent Sadusky stood quietly against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed, thinking over Ben's situation in St. Petersburg. Emily was correct in assuming that things weren't right. The treasure hunter had stressed that there be no police involvement, but he also knew that Ben couldn't handle something of that magnitude on his own. Sighing, the FBI agent made his decision, and he slipped quietly from the room without Patrick or Emily noticing his departure.

* * *

"You know, I think I recognize this place out of a textbook or something," Riley commented, looking around the decent-sized, heavily-decorated living room.

"I wouldn't be surprised, Riley," Calina muttered as she typed on her laptop, otherwise not acknowledging him. "This place is one of the key points of our history."

Riley nodded, sighing heavily. He then looked up at Calina, who was sitting cross-legged in a chair beside the couch he was lying on. "So, what were you looking up that day I helped you hack into some kind of medical database?" he asked, curious.

Calina shrugged. "Artem just told me to find out if there was a sort of antidote that could counteract any and every type of poison," she answered. "I couldn't find anything."

The techie blinked with surprise as he thought her statement over. The fact that Artem was searching for another possible method to combat the disease he held in his possession meant that he was afraid that Ben wouldn't find the actual cure, if one even existed. That made his chances of survival greater since the Russian mad had to be at least somewhat reluctant to unleash the deadly toxin if he had no way to ensure that he and his men would not be infected by it.

"And do you know _why_ he wants you to find that antidote?" Riley continued, almost accusingly.

"No, nor do I really mind not knowing," Calina told him, still not looking away from her laptop screen to meet his gaze. "I stay out of my cousin's business, and he stays out of mine."

Riley pushed himself up on his arms to look at her better. "Calina, listen to me. Artem is a mad man. No offense," he added quickly when he saw the woman's eyebrows raise. "You have no idea what is in his possession, what he's threatening my best friend, Ben, with, and what you have to find an antidote for. It's an extremely deadly disease, Calina, a disease that he's going to use to kill the earth's population if Ben doesn't succeed in finding what he wants."

For the first time during their conversation, Calina moved her eyes away from the computer screen and locked gazes with Riley. "That's insane," she commented before turning back to her laptop screen.

"No, Calina. Please, you have to believe me!" Riley almost begged. "Why do you think my family is in Russia to begin with? Artem couldn't find what he wanted in our home, so he called us here to search for it." He sighed as he paused for a moment. "I can prove it to you if you let me see your laptop."

Calina slowly looked back up at him, staring into his pleading eyes. After another minute, she sighed and handed the techie the computer after nervously looking around to make sure they were alone. Riley typed feverishly into the laptop, and after a few long, agonizing moments, he was able to pull up the page about the deadly toxin that he had found for Ben back at home.

"There. That's what your cousin has."

"But why?" Calina asked after she quickly scanned the page when Riley gave the laptop back to her. "Why would he have something like this?" She still appeared doubtful, but she also seemed almost ready to believe him.

"I don't know," Riley answered quietly. "But I believe that it has something to do with Ras-!"

"Calina!"

The woman gasped and immediately slammed the laptop closed when she heard the sudden, sharp sound of her name. Riley watched as Artem entered the living room at that moment and approached Calina, pulling her roughly to her feet. "Your shift is over," he told her fiercely, pushing her toward the door that led to the kitchen. "Ivan's taking your place."

Riley sighed sadly when he saw Calina look back at him with an almost sad expression before she left and Ivan entered the room through the same door. But when he saw the dark look that Artem cast him as he left the room after his cousin, the techie had the feeling that his one chance of an ally in this place was gone.

* * *

"What should we do with Dustin's body?" Powell asked quietly so that only Ian could hear him. "We can't just leave him there."

Ian ran his hand through his blond hair as he sighed, glancing around the dark, dusty living room. Abigail was still sitting on the table where Powell had wrapped her leg, Clara curled up on her lap wrapped up in Powell's leather jacket. Nick was leaning against the table beside her, and Phil was standing by the window as he watched the sun get higher in the sky.

"We could put him in the trees and bury him as best as we can," the English man finally muttered, again loud enough so only Powell could hear him. "Someone will have to distract Nick so he doesn't wee what we're doing."

Powell nodded in agreement, thinking that course of action would be best, but then his eyes narrowed when they landed on Clara. "What do you have there, kiddo?" he wondered, seeing the glint of gold in her hands.

Clara quickly looked up at him, startled, and hid whatever she had been holding beneath the man's coat. "Nothing, Uncle Powell," she told him.

Nick even noticed that the eight-year-old appeared flustered, and he straightened up to stand in front of her. "Come on, cutie," he said, smiling as he lifted her carefully off Abigail's lap and held her in his arms. "I'm sure it's nothing bad. I mean, you didn't steal it or anything, did you?"

"Uh…" For the first moment being held by one of her new uncles, Clara had enjoyed it. Nick's arms were warm around her, and even though she was still wrapped in Powell's jacket, some cold still snuck past the leather material- a chill that Nick's warmth fought off. But now, at the mention of the word _steal_, she felt a sudden chill that even her uncle's arms couldn't hold back.

She was filled with another feeling of dread when Nick brought her straight to Powell and Ian. "Let's see, kiddo," Powell muttered, moving his coat aside to reveal the golden, heart-shaped locket. "That's beautiful, Clara. I didn't know you had that."

"I didn't before," Clara whispered, her voice barely loud enough for the three men to hear. "I… I think I stole it…"

Powell and Ian exchanged knowing grins. "I'm not so sure about that, Clara," the blond English man told her encouragingly with a smile. "Trust us, we know what stealing is. Heck, your dad could even tell you a lot about stealing, but that's a story for another time. You didn't actually take it from anyone, did you?"

Clara shook her head vehemently. "No, I found it in a tunnel I was hiding in," she replied softly, still unsure.

"Well then it's not stealing," Ian announced with a small laugh. "That's a little thing called 'finder's keepers,' luv."

"Oh." Clara looked down at the locket she held in her palm and then took it off from around her neck. "I can't get it open, though…"

"Let me try," Powell said, taking the golden locket from her. He pushed down on the tiny latch and tried pulling the heart-shaped door open, but it wouldn't budge. He tried adding a little more force, but he still couldn't get it to open. "That's odd…"

"Give it to me before you break it," Ian told him, taking the locket from Powell. But he also couldn't get it to open.

"You know what?" Powell finally muttered, taking the heart-shaped locket back from Ian. "Why don't you go talk to your Uncle Phil over there? If anyone can get it open, it's him."

Clara nodded, taking her precious find from Powell before being set down by Nick, and then she ran over to their silent group member, causing Ian, Powell, and Nick to laugh when they saw his startled expression at being addressed as "Uncle Phil." "Well, at least he should be able to get it open for her," Powell muttered through his grin.

Ian nodded, but then he placed his hand on Nick's shoulder. "Stay here with Abigail to make sure her leg's okay for now, all right?" he muttered.

Nick's face darkened with confusion. "Why, what are you going to do?" Nick asked. He knew his stepbrother well enough to know that he was trying to keep him occupied.

"Just trust me, all right, Nick?" Ian answered, though it wasn't really much of an answer to his question. He then moved his hand up to rest on the side of the younger man's head. "As your brother, I need you to trust me."

After a long moment of silence passing between them, Nick finally nodded. "All right, Ian," he said quietly. "I trust you."

Ian smiled slightly, moving his hand back down to his shoulder before walking past him. Powell also placed his hand on Nick's shoulder for a brief second before following Ian, and both men stepped outside into the cold air to face the difficult task ahead.

* * *

"Hey, you know Rasputin was my favorite creepy historical figure too…" Riley said casually, trying to rid of some of the tension in the room as Artem now sat in the chair next to him.

Artem glanced over at him. "Yeah? Well, I'm not surprised," he replied. "He was an incredible man. A holy man."

"And holy men don't kill people," Riley supplied with an innocent smile. When he saw the look of confusion on Artem's face, his smile vanished. "Isn't that your goal, Artem? To be like your idol, Rasputin?"

To his surprise, Artem laughed, and Riley found with only slight amusement that it was the same evil laugh coined by villains in all of the action movies. That fact didn't make him feel any better about his hostage situation. "No, I don't want to be like Rasputin," he told him. "Like every good student who respects their teachers, I want to surpass him, to be greater than him."

The Russian man then stood up from the chair and sat back down on the couch beside the younger man, pulling a small vial out of his pocket that contained a fine, white powder. "Do you know what this is, Riley?"

Riley definitely knew what the vial contained judging by the man's gleaming eyes, and a nervous grin stretched across his face. "Can it be a harmless container of baking soda?" he asked. "I like baking soda. You can make good things with baking soda."

Artem rolled his eyes in clear annoyance. "No, Riley, this isn't baking soda," he muttered. "I'm sure if you used _this_ to make something, it would be to _die_ for." He took a moment to laugh at his own joke, and Riley laughed nervously along. "But think about this, Riley. This same disease was created by Rasputin when he was alive to help Nicholas and Alexandra wipe out an enemy army, so of course it was used for a good cause. I have recreated it, improved it even, since his could only have been transported through water or if an infected person touched another person. But _mine_ can be transported simply by an infected person _breathing_ on another, though it's not as effective on the second person that way. But it's still great."

He paused again, and Riley had to admit that this man was truly insane. "Have you ever dreamt of such power to have, Riley?" Artem asked with a broad smile. "Have you ever dreamt to h old something so powerful, yet so dangerous, in the palm of your hand?"

"No, I really can't say that I have," Riley answered with a sigh. "I'm more of a simple kind of guy with simple plans in life."

"Pity." Artem then put the vial securely back on his belt, and then a malicious glint appeared in his eyes. "Simple. It kind of reminds me of when Ivan killed your brother. It would have been so simple to avoid all of that drama if he wouldn't have stepped in the way."

Riley tensed beneath the Russian man's glare when he heard him talk about Dustin. "Sure, we may not have been on best terms, but he's my older brother. He just wasn't going to stand there and let me die."

Artem laughed again, and the cruel sound of it sent frightened shivers through Riley. "Oh, there's so much you don't understand about what happened, Riley. For you see, Ivan wasn't aiming to kill you. He was only aiming to injure you. So, your brother didn't even have to die, and now he has died for nothing."

Horror and dread crashed over Riley in a cold wave. Dustin had died for _nothing_? His breath came out in a strangled gasp, his eyes almost desperate as he raised them back to Artem's face. It _had_ to be a lie…

"You can sit and think on that, Riley," Artem said as he stood up form the couch, Ivan sitting in the chair with a newspaper under his arm at the same time. "My shift is up, but I'll see you later."

Riley glared daggers at Artem's retreating figure and then at Ivan sitting in the chair beside him as he read about what was happening in the news, wondering if this was one of those 'if looks could kill' moments. There was so much anger bottled up inside of him at that moment that he felt like screaming at Ivan for killing Dustin, especially since he didn't have to die.

But sadness soon overwhelmed the spurt of anger, and Riley had to lay down on the couch again since his head had begun to spin and his stomach began to violently churn. He wrapped his arms around himself protectively and closed his eyes tightly as he felt fresh tears roll down his cheeks.

* * *

_"Blacken the sun_

_What have I done?_

_I feel so bad, I feel so numb, yeah_

_Blacken the sun_

_What have I done?_

_I feel so good, I feel so numb, yeah."_

Ian sighed as he carefully navigated their "borrowed" van down the icy mountain path as they headed back for St. Petersburg. _Numb_ was a good adjective to describe him at that moment. The burden of leadership surely wasn't weighing in his favor at that time, and he was only focused on the two tasks that now lay ahead of him- saving Riley and finding the cure for the disease. The first was higher up on his priority list since he knew that it would be easier to find the techie than to find something he wasn't even sure existed.

Nick sat in the passenger seat beside him, his face completely blank. Though Ian had told him to stay with Abigail when they were back at the house, he had snuck a quick glance out the window and watched as Powell and Ian moved Dustin's body into the dense forest around the house. He hadn't told his older stepbrother that he had seen them do this task, but he wouldn't have been surprised if Ian would guess anyway by his uncharacteristic silence. Abigail sat in the very back seat, her injured leg resting on the entire row. She was on the brink of awareness and sleep since she was exhausted, and the gunshot wound certainly wasn't making her fight to stay awake any easier. Clara lay curled up on one of the middle seats, fast asleep with the golden, heart-shaped locket held tight in her hand. Phil had playfully wondered if it would explode it he could manage to open it, but even with his superior lock-picking ability, the locket still remained unopened.

Ian glanced in his rear-view mirror to make sure that the second car was still behind them. Phil was driving the car that he had rented when he reached St. Petersburg, Powell in the passenger seat to keep him company. They had tied up the still unconscious Dimitri and Sacha and thrown them into the back seat to bring them to the police station, which, judging by their maps, wasn't too far away from the hospital they were headed to.

It was a little before one in the afternoon by the time Ian's van pulled to a stop in front of St. Petersburg General Hospital. He turned it off, sighing as he leaned back in the seat as he waited for Phil and Powell to arrive after their quick detour to the police station. At least one of their goals would be taken care of- Abigail would get medical attention.

"They're here," Nick suddenly muttered, watching as Phil parked across the street before he and Powell came hurrying across the street to their van. They opened the side door, and the taller of the two helped Abigail off the seat and out of the van before Powell picked her up into his arms.

"Go, Nick," Ian said quietly, looking at the sleeping eight-year-old still in her seat. "Clara could use you now."

"What are you going to do?" Nick asked, confused. But he still opened the door at the mention of Clara.

Ian grinned slightly. "I'm going to return the van to the hotel parking lot like I promised. I'm hesitant to drive it around St. Petersburg since the police are looking for it, and I'm sure the man is missing it," he answered. "Besides, any more traveling we have to do can be done in Phil's car. Don't worry, I'll take a bus back here when I'm done."

Nick looked at him for a long moment, but then he slowly nodded. He climbed out of the van, closing his door before opening the side one. "Come on, cutie," he said, unbuckling Clara's seatbelt and carefully picking her up.

Clara's eyes fluttered open for a minute as Nick situated her comfortably in his arms and slid the back door shut before closing them again and falling back asleep against his shoulder. Powell had already rushed Abigail into the hospital, but Phil had waited outside with all of the luggage bags, and he and Nick walked inside together.

Once he was sure everyone was inside, Ian started the van again and began to drive in the direction he hoped the hotel they had stayed at was in. He wasn't quiet sure where to go since he didn't know the street names, but judging by his road map that was now lying on the passenger seat, he was on the right road to get there.

When he was stopped at a red light, Ian picked up his cell phone off the dashboard and saw that he had one voice message. Before he could call his voice mailbox to see who had called, the small phone began to ring. Recognizing the number to be Ben's cell phone, he answered it immediately. "Good to hear from you, Ben."

"Yeah. It's good to finally get a hold of someone," Ben replied.

"Sorry about that, Ben. Abigail's phone died, and I accidentally left mine in a van we, uh, borrowed," Ian told him. "That's probably why you couldn't get a hold of us."

"And Riley's?" Ben pressed.

"I think his was turned off," Ian said, hoping that was the case and nothing worse had happened to their sarcastic computer hacker.

"What happened when I was gone, Ian?" Ben asked quietly but anxiously, his voice laced with worry.

Ian sighed. "A lot happened while you were gone, Ben, mostly things that aren't so good," he answered heavily as the traffic light turned green. "But I'll tell you all of that when you come back here."

"I am," Ben stated. "I'm standing outside of the St. Petersburg airport. I just don't know where you guys are."

Suddenly, Ian made a sharp left turn even though he was in the wrong lane, which was an illegal, not to mention dangerous, maneuver, and he was relieved that there weren't any police cars around. "Hold on, Ben," he told him, ignoring the horns of other cars honking at him.. "I'm on my way now to pick you up."

**A/N**: Okay, that's it for this one! But, it's kind of a set up for things to come. I have the rest of the story all mapped out, and from this point on, it's gonna' be intense. So, you have a lot to look forward to! Oh, and the song I used was "Feel So Numb" by Rob Zombie. Thanks for reading, guys! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thanks!


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer**: Depressing to say, but no one from _National Treasure_ is mine, and the only ones that are now are Nick, Clara, Artem, and Ivan.

**A/N**: Hey, guys! Just to let you all know, the story is finished on my end. So we have, let's see, three more chapters after this one, plus an epilogue and a surprise. But, that's it. I seriously can't believe it. Also, just another note of warning, there is no Riley in this chapter. I'm so sorry, guys. I couldn't fit him in! But don't worry. There will be plenty of him in the next three, so hopefully that will make it up. This is also what I like to call the "epiphany chapter," which means that Ben and Ian actually figure a lot of things out! They're beginning to figure out clues from the journal, and since they're on an on-line translator, it will seem choppy and almost confusing. But, you all know how on-line translators are. And don't worry. For those of you confused by Ian's readings, Ben will clear it all up for you toward the end. Thank you so much to **broadwaylover07**, **daisyduke80**, **LupinandHarry**, **Spellinggirl**, **Thuraya Known**, **Miss Fenway**, **Halo**, and **momiji'sunusedhalo** for your reviews! So, here I bring you the next chapter!

**Warning**: I've gotta throw in a warning here, guys, sorry. This is going to be one of my most violent chapters in the respect that I have a flashback of the royal family massacre, so there is mention of a lot of deaths and blood. Just so I don't like get in trouble for now warning you, lol. Enjoy!

Chapter 23

Ben paced nervously in the one room in the hospital where cell phones were allowed to be used. He and Ian had taken the van back to the hotel so the man could find it, and then they had taken a taxi back to the hospital. The treasure hunter had been horrified to find out that Abigail was the one who needed to have medical attention, was disheartened to know that Dustin had been killed, was slightly encouraged by the fact that Phil had arrived to help, and was devastated to learn that Riley was in the hands of the Russians. Ben had initially blamed Ian for everything that had happened while he was gone, but it was only an immediate response that had quickly diminished since the events that had transpired were out of his control.

Powell and Phil sat together on the other side of the room with maps of St. Petersburg and Siberia, trying to locate potential areas where Ivan could have taken Riley. Nick sat in another chair near them with Clara still sitting in his lap. The eight-year-old clung tightly to his arm with one hand, and she continued to fidget with the golden locket with the other. Clara had tried to show Ben what she had found as soon as he had arrived at the hospital, but he had only glanced at it quickly and said that "it was nice." So, she had retreated back to one of her favorite uncles and continued to sit silently on his lap.

Ian finally sighed, tired of seeing Ben pace endlessly. "Come here for a minute, Ben," he muttered, getting to his feet and walking past him to the table where all of their luggage bags were. He hoped that he would be able to distract the treasure hunter enough so that he didn't end up wearing a hole in the floor. Ben joined him a minute later, watching as he took out Riley's laptop and then an ancient-looking book out of another bag.

"What is that?" Ben asked quietly, his eyes on the book that obviously contained a lot of history.

"It's Rasputin's journal. We found it locked in Artem's uncle's house. We figured that it could give us some clues," Ian answered him, opening the laptop and turning it on. He hoped that it would have enough battery for what he needed to do to occupy Ben. "The only problem is, it's in Russian, so we're going to have to translate it."

Ben nodded, carefully opening the journal that he and Ian were standing over, delicately turning the faded pages. "Incredible…" he breathed.

Ian nodded in agreement, but then he smiled triumphantly when he pulled up the page he had been looking for. "Riley saved one of the best translators on the internet, probably because none of us know Russian," he said, silently admitting that it had been a very smart move. "Let's start translating."

"Wait," Ben suddenly muttered. He had stopped on a page that had a rough drawing of a mountain range that looked like a crown… the same mountain range that the cure was supposedly hidden in. "Translate the paragraphs above and below the drawing."

Time moved slowly for the two men, but about ten minutes later, they had the rough translation of the two paragraphs. "Okay, it says that Anastasia had the cure for the disease Rasputin created to help the Tsar to wipe out an enemy army, and she was supposed to give it back to him in a secret tunnel within these mountains," Ian read, pointing to the picture drawn in the journal. "That is where he came up with the clue of 'the cure is found within the crown of Anastasia' since the formation is that of a crown."

Ben turned to the next page, and saw that one entire side was devoted to a sketch of many lines forming different patters. "There's a whole network of tunnels within those mountains," he whispered. "Probably to make it more confusing for anyone who was searching for the cure."

"Anastasia was supposed to meet Rasputin in this tunnel… here," Ian said, pointing to one of them drawn on the page as he continued to read the translation off the laptop screen. "But it doesn't say anything here that he actually got the cure back from her."

"I wonder why…" Ben muttered with confusion.

Ian suddenly looked up at the treasure hunter. "Because he couldn't meet her. He was dead," he told him. "Remember, Rasputin was murdered?"

Ben nodded, his excitement rising. They were finally on to something… "Anastasia probably made it to the tunnels, but Rasputin never met her since he had already been dumped into the river. The cure could still be there somewhere." But then, his eyes narrowed when he saw a couple of names he recognized on the page. "Wait. Nicholas and Alexandra. That was the Tsar and his wife, Anastasia's parents. I wonder why they're written on the page about the tunnels…"

"Let me translate it." It took Ian a little longer to translate the second page, and about twenty minutes later, the English version of what Rasputin had written was on the screen. "It says here that Rasputin had made a secret prophesy that was shared with no one about how he feared that every member of the royal family would be killed except for one, the youngest girl, who he gave the of 'the forgotten heir.' Since he knew that his cure would be searched for when the disease he created struck, he gave it to Anastasia wince she would not be questioned by hiding it in a piece of her jewelry so no one could open it unless it was needed. He never told her what was inside, only that it was very important and to keep it a secret, a secret she had to return to him if things went terribly wrong. Okay, I'm going to skip forward a little…

"Here, this is interesting. He told Anastasia to meet him in the tunnel that began in Ipatiev House, where the family would later be slaughtered, and came out at the base of one of the mountains that forms the crown that was near a house where some of his most trusted friends lived- a place where she would be protected."

The English man paused and slowly looked over at Ben with confusion. "Rasputin gave her an escape route so she could hopefully survived the royal family massacre," he muttered.

Ben sighed heavily. He remembered learning about that bloody night that took place on July 16th, which was ironically the day Clara had been born years later. The family of seven had been led down to the basement, along with a couple of servants, to supposedly have a place to wait so they could be moved to another, more secure, location. But soldiers with rifles had come down with orders to kill the entire family, and so the bloodshed began…

"_Your relations have tried to save you. They have failed and we must now shoot you."_

_I heard the words spoken by Yurovsky, one of the main soldiers who had been in charge of taking us from our home, and since he held his rifle tight in his hand, I instantly believed them to be true. My father, who had been sitting in a chair beside my mother as he held by brother, stood to defend Mother and Alexis. He could only speak one word, which was the question, "What…?" before a rifle was fired, and he fell to the ground dead. He had taken a shot to the head, and blood was beginning to flow everywhere from the wound. I screamed in fear when my mother too fell only after one shot after quickly making the sign of the cross. Then, the rifles were turned to my sisters, Olga, Tatiana, and Marie, and I, and were fired._

_I heard their pained screams as I fell to the basement floor, feeling faint. Miraculously, the volley of bullets had missed me, but my sisters weren't so lucky as they fell dead around me. I watched with only faint awareness as Botkin, my brother's doctor, fell as well, and Kharitonov, our cook, fell quickly after. Even Trupp, our valet, fell victim to the bullets that were rapidly being fired. As I watched Demidova, our maid, run around the basement frantically in hopes of escape since she had somehow survived the volley of bullets, I wondered why this was even happening to us. We hadn't done anything wrong…_

_Soon, even Demidova was killed by being stabbed with the bayonets many times. I felt tears beginning to burn in my eyes as I watched the soldiers while they slaughtered all of us, including the spaniel Jimmy by crushing his head. Only one thought was on my mind at that moment: What had we done to deserve this?_

_Then, Alexis groaned and reached for our father's lifeless body. I tried to silently warn him not to move, but I was too late. The soldiers came over to him, stopping right beside where I lay, and kicked him forcefully before firing two shots into his ear. It took every ounce of strength I possessed at that moment not to scream, not to run. How could anyone be so heartless?_

_I then heard the soldiers say something about getting white sheets to wrap our bodies with to transport us, and they went upstairs to find them. My head cleared at that moment, and I slowly sat up. When I saw my beloved family, all lying dead, covered in their blood that even spattered the walls, I couldn't help but let out a scream of terror at the massacre that had taken place. I then gasped when I heard hurried footsteps above me, knowing that the soldiers had heard my cry, and then I remembered what the holy man had told me about the escape route he had plotted out for me. He had been my mother's friend, so I trusted him. I quickly got to my feet and ran to the corner where the loose tile was, but I had difficulty pulling it up. But I was finally able to move it enough so that I could slip through it._

_It was only a short drop to the tunnel ground, and I immediately began to crawl into the darkness. I was covered in my family's blood and my tears slowed me down, but the thought that I would be protected once I reached my mother's strange confidant kept me going._

_After a long time, I finally slowed to a stop when I was near the opening of the end of the tunnel. I hadn't run into him yet, so I decided to sit and wait. I was almost safe, so it shouldn't hurt to rest for a little while. Then, I took my locket from around my neck and held it lightly in my hands. It had been a gift from my sister, Marie, for my sixteenth birthday, and it was the one piece of jewelry that I treasured most. But the holy man stressed that I give it back to him when things went wrong since it held some great power inside of it, and things were definitely terrible now._

_I waited and waited for him to arrive, but he never came. When the sun was finally beginning to rise, I decided that I would leave the locket here in the tunnel for him to get when he had the chance, but I would not wait any longer. I could still be discovered. I set my beloved piece of jewelry on the rocky floor before crawling out of the tunnel. I found myself in a forest at the base of a mountain range, and I walked down the small path that led through the trees before coming to a small clearing. There was a lit, two-story house set there, and I must have been expected because a dark-haired man and woman came running out to greet me. They hugged me tightly, and then brought me inside to get me cleaned up._

_I knew that now that I was with them, I was finally safe._

* * *

"So, Rasputin told Anastasia about the escape route since she held the cure?" Ben guessed as he was brought out of his thoughts about the tragic fate of the Romanov family.

"That's what I'm assuming," Ian confirmed, turning his attention back to the laptop screen. "Remember, the translation we have is a rough one, and we're probably even missing some information. I'm sure if we could actually read the journal in its entirety and native language, it would make more sense."

Ben leaned against the table, appearing to be deep in thought. "So, let me get the information we do have straight," he muttered. "Rasputin invented this terrible disease that he used to help fight against an enemy army, and he also invented a cure for it in case any of Russia's army got infected instead, I'm assuming, and he gave it to Anastasia in order to hide it since she wasn't an obvious holder. This piece of jewelry he hid it in couldn't be opened unless something went wrong and there was a need for the cure, so she didn't know what was inside, only that it was important. He feared that the Romanov family would be killed, so he told Anastasia about an escape route from Ipatiev House that would lead her to another house near the crown-shaped mountain range via tunnel. She was the only member of the family that survived as Rasputin had predicted, and he planned to meet her in that same tunnel to get the cure back from her. But he couldn't meet her because he had been murdered, and Anastasia left the cure for him in their planned meeting place before she left the tunnel and went to the house that belonged to Rasputin's trusted friends, where she lived for the rest of her days… and truly became the forgotten heir." He paused as he sighed. "Which leaves us where?"

"The cure is still in that tunnel," Ian said with understanding.

"The cure is still there," Ben repeated in agreement, a triumphant smile on his face. "Now that we know where it is, we can go find it."

Ian's brow suddenly creased as another thought crossed his mind. "Wait. No, the cure isn't there anymore," he said. "The house it's talking about that Anastasia went to was the same house we were in when we found the journal. Artem's uncle's house." He had suddenly remembered something that Clara had told them when she was afraid that she had stolen the golden, heart-shaped locket.

_"I found it in the tunnel I was hiding in…"_

The English man picked up Rasputin's journal and carefully began to flip through the pages, hoping that he could find a certain sketch. When he finally found what he was looking for, his face lit up with excitement. "Your daughter was in that same tunnel, Ben. We already have the cure." Then, Ian turned his attention to where Nick was sitting with the eight-year-old girl. "Clara, can I see the locket you found in the tunnel, please?"

Clara looked over at him at the sound of his question, and she slid off of Nick's lap. But she turned and grabbed his hand, pulling him after her as she went to stand by Ian and Ben. Clara took the locket from around her neck and handed it to the English man.

Ian held the heart-shaped locket in his hand for Ben to see, and with his other, he held the journal page that he had found open. Ben smiled broadly when he saw that there was a sketch on the faded page that looked exactly like the locket that rested in Ian's palm.

"What is it?" Nick asked, confused by the treasure hunter's happiness when he saw the locket.

"It's the cure for the disease, Nick," Ian answered with a smile of his own. "It's what we came to Russia to look for. We finally have it."

"The cure is inside, but the locket can't be opened unless we have a need for cure," Ben expanded, taking the locket from Ian's hand. "This whole thing could be over soon, and maybe then, we can finally go home. We'll just give this to Artem, and-!"

"Hold on a minute, Ben," Ian interrupted him. "What do you mean we'll just give it to him?"

"I mean that we'll give Artem the cure like he demanded so we can end this disease threat and go home," Ben told him. "I want this to end, and I think you do too." A nagging feeling in the back of his mind told him to choose his words carefully, because this was reminding him of the disagreement he and Ian had had almost ten years before on _The Charlotte_ that had torn their friendship apart.

"Ben," Ian said with a slight laugh as he took the locket back from him. "I'm not sure if you realize the gravity of the situation. Artem is a mad man that can't be trusted. What makes you so sure that he won't unleash the disease anyway if we just give the cure to him? How do you think he'll react when we give it to him and say, 'we can't open it. Good luck.' I say we hold this above his head per se, you know, use it to bargain with."

He remembered what Agent Sadusky had told him about Artem had been along the same lines, but Ben still shook his head as he took the locket from him and held it tightly. "No. Artem has Riley, Ian," he snapped. "I know that you have some sort of grudge against him, but I'm not going to take any chances with Riley's life. I'm going to do what I have to do to get him out alive. I think that if Nick was in Riley's place, you would want to do the same."

Anger appeared in Ian's eyes when Ben dragged Nick into the debate, and he tried to take the locket again without success. "Then we'll make sure that Riley is safe with us before we do any bargaining. It'll be sort of a trade-off where the odds are in our favor," he attempted to persuade him. "If you let me do all the bluffing, I can give us the advantage over him."

No matter how convincing Ian sounded, Ben would not be swayed. Riley's life came first, and he would make sure that he would get him out of his situation safely. But before he could protest further, he heard sudden music playing loudly from his pocket that sounded like one of Riley's favorite songs, "Psycho." Realizing that it was his cell phone since the techie must have gotten his hands on it, the treasure hunter quickly took it out of his pocket and saw that his assumption about who was calling was correct.

It was Artem.

**A/N**: The creepy thing is, the song "Psycho" came on my iPod randomly while I was typing the last paragraph about Ben's phone ringing, lol. Anyway, sorry that it wasn't the most exciting chapter or it didn't have any Riley in it, but it was extremely important. How are they going to use the cure? I don't know, you'll have to find out. Actually I do know since the whole story is written, but you guys still have to find out, lol. And if you're wondering how my flashback was so detailed, I got all of the information out of the book Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie. It's a very good book, and I highly recommend it! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movies is mine, but everything else is!

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! Thanks for your quick reviews! It's depressing to say that school has started for me, and since I'm in my senior year, it's gonna be _very_ busy. Hopefully, I will be able to get this story completely updated before things get too hectic since there's only two more chapters plus an epilogue and a little suprise. But thanks to **Thuraya Known**, **daisyduke80**, **Miss Fenway**, **broadwaylover07**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Halo**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **LupinandHarry**, and **supernatural16 **for the reviews! They're so encouraging! Oh, and as a funny, lighthearted note, Riley and I are now reunited after I jump off the _Intrepid_ with Ben in "I Can't Believe We're Doing This," so check it out if you want to see some embarrassing situations for me! But anyway, enjoy this lengthily, intense, and emotional chapter!

**Warning**: Multiple character death. Sorry, had to do it, guys!

Chapter 24

"What do you want, Artem?" Ben demanded. At the sound of the Russian man's name, every pair of eyes landed on the treasure hunter warily. Clara's hand tightened around Nick's since she recognized the harsh tone of her father's voice.

"Oh, so harsh, Gates," Artem said on the other end, laughing a little. "I was just wondering how you were enjoying your time back in America."

"I'm back in St. Petersburg now," Ben replied heatedly. "I'm with my family."

There was another laugh on the other end. "So you know that I have your little computer friend then?"

Ben's fierce tone faltered at the mention of Riley. "How is he?" he asked anxiously. "Let me talk to him!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Ben," Artem answered almost cruelly. "You see, he's not in the mood for talking right now."

Anger instantly took its place over the anxiety inside Ben again. "What did you do to him, Artem?!"

"I didn't do anything to him, Ben," Artem told him truthfully. "Let's just say the impact of the recent events has finally sunk in for Riley."

Then, Ben gasped when he heard a familiar voice in the background. "Is that Ben?"

"_Zatk'nis_! Shut up, Riley!" Ben cringed when he heard what almost sounded like a foot colliding with a body, and he heard Riley let out a hoarse cry of pain. Then, he began to violently cough, which meant that he must have been kicked in his stomach.

"Don't you _dare_ lay another hand on him, Artem!" Ben roared angrily. His intensity caused Clara's shoulders to begin to shake as tears fell from her eyes, and Nick pulled her close to his side. Powell quickly got to his feet when he realized that something was wrong, and even Ian placed his hand on the treasure hunter's shoulder in attempt to calm him while Phil watched Ben carefully.

"My patience grows thin, Ben," Artem muttered threateningly into the phone. "Your friend's life is now tied to how soon you can find the cure to the disease. Do you have any leads on it?"

Ben took a deep breath to calm himself, nodding his silent thanks to Ian. "I have the cure, Artem," he told him. "We found it."

There was a moment of shocked silence on the other end. "Oh, really? I wasn't expecting that," Artem said. "Well, in that case, you can come for your friend now as long as you bring the cure. Here is your one clue, Gates. You will find him at the House where an empire ended. Good luck. I know you will figure it out. _Dosvi'daniya._ Goodbye." Then, he hung up.

Ben sighed as he closed his cell phone and put it back in his pocket. He then ran his hand through his hair nervously while Ian removed his hand from his shoulder. "What happened, Ben?" Nick asked quietly, still holding Clara close. "What did he say?"

"He told us we could come for Riley if we had the cure," Ben answered just as quietly as he looked down at the golden locket in his hand. "He also told us where they were. 'The House where an empire ended.' That would be… what?"

Ian thought about it for only a second before picking up Rasputin's journal. "It's in here, Ben," he muttered, flipping carefully through the pages. " 'The House where an Empire ended.' We just read about it. It's where Nicholas and the rest of his family died."

Ben nodded knowingly, but also with dread, as he rushed over to his bag, pulling out a map of Russia and unrolling it as he placed it on the table beside Riley's laptop. "It's in Siberia, and there's a road to get there," he commented, pointing to another somewhat decent-sized house that was a distance west of the house that had belonged to Artem's uncle, and then to a winding road at the base of the mountain range that went through one of them. "It's Ipatiev House."

* * *

Riley lay curled on the couch, covering his stomach protectively where Artem had forcefully kicked him. But as he lay in pain, his mind wandered to what the Russian man had said about Dustin. Was it true that he had died for nothing? It couldn't be possible…

He saw in his mind's eye Dustin aiming his gun at Ben in Jesse James' house eight years before, and then as his eyes faltered when he had stepped in front of the treasure hunter. Then, he remembered Dustin sneering "little brother" at him before he was dragged away by Agent Sadusky's men. Over the eight-year gap that his brother was out of his life, the hatred that they felt toward each other had only grown.

Next, Riley could plainly see all that had transpired between them while in Russia- Dustin walking in on his and Clara's secret handshake, Dustin warning them about the bomb in the Winter Palace, he and Dustin glaring at each other the first night he and the rest of his group spent the night in their new hotel room, Dustin daring him to try one of the exotic Russian side dishes but going back on his part of the deal, the small argument in the hotel room that had led to the worst fight they had ever had, which included Dustin punching him… and then, of course, Dustin's final act of redemption when he jumped in front of him and took the bullet to save him. What made that terrible moment even worse was that if what Artem said was true, Dustin didn't even have to die.

Riley slammed his hand down on the couch cushion, nearly crying out in his frustration because of the many emotions coursing through him at once- anger, grief, hate towards himself for hating his brother so blindly, confusion… He wasn't sure what to do from that point on as tears burned in his eyes and somehow managed to sneak past his defense and roll down his cheeks.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm, and he gasped as he was pulled roughly to his feet. Riley stared at an impatient-looking Artem in horror through damp, red-rimmed eyes, wondering what was going to happen to him now. Then, he watched as an almost cruel smirk appeared on the Russian man's face. "It's all right, Riley. You don't have to be afraid," he said in a poor attempt at a soothing tone. "Ben's on his way to come and get you. Come with me now, and we'll wait downstairs for him, all right?"

Confused, Riley allowed himself to be pulled along by Artem, glancing at the kitchen door for a moment when he saw that Calina was watching him before she was out of sight when he was forced down the stairs. Now that his head was completely clear, the techie's eyes widened in fear as he recognized the semi-basement room with the iron grate over the window when the entered it from the books he had read about the Romanov family.

"I know where this is. This… this is…"

"Shh, Riley. It's all right," Artem tried to calm him again, looking over his shoulder as Ivan brought a chair down the stairs and set it in front of the wall with the red stains covering it. Artem then dragged Riley over to the wall and shoved him roughly into the chair. "Isn't this exhilarating, Riley? You're sitting in the very spot that Tsar Nicholas of Russia sat in before he died."

Riley laughed nervously. "Yeah, it's _great_," he agreed sarcastically.

"I'm glad we see eye to eye," Artem said while Riley frowned. Sarcasm must not have been universal, at least to crazy people. "But now, there's nothing left to do but wait."

* * *

"You can't go on your own, Ben," Powell said after the treasure hunter made his announcement. "It's too dangerous."

"I don't care," Ben replied. "I don't want any of you to get involved with this because it _is_ so dangerous."

"Ben," Ian muttered, trying to make the other man see reason. "Even though we took out two of Artem's men, he still has Ivan. You should have at least one more person with you, especially since with more help, you'll have a better chance of saving Riley." He paused and lowered his voice so that only Ben could hear him. "The original reason that I came to Russia was so that I could get my revenge on Artem. You can't take that chance away from me, can you? Come on, Ben. Let me help you now."

Ben looked at the English man for a long moment, and then he sighed as he nodded once. "All right," he finally relented, though he clearly wasn't happy about it. "You can come."

Ian smiled gratefully, but then his eyes landed on Nick. "I'll be fine," he tried to assure him, his tone making it clear that he didn't want him, or even Powell and Phil, coming along due to the danger that they would be facing… not to mention the uncertainty that they wouldn't be returning. "I'll be back before you even miss me, little brother. You'll see."

Nick nodded in response before Ian pulled him into a quick hug, unsure if this would be the last time he would see Nick or not. At the same time, Ben picked up Clara and held her tightly to him. "Be good, all right, Clara?" he told her. He hated to admit it, but similar thoughts to Ian's were running through his mind.

Clara nodded. "I will," she promised, kissing him on the cheek. "Be careful, Daddy."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Your hugs give me good luck," Ben said with a small smile, kissing her blonde head before setting her back down on the floor. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Ben smiled, and then he turned his attention to Nick. "Take good care of her."

Nick smiled as he shook Ben's hand. "I will," he muttered with a sigh. "Just bring him back." His eyes gestured to Ian while the treasure hunter nodded.

"Do you want a hug for good luck too, Uncle Ian?" Clara asked, looking up at the blond English man.

Ian laughed a little, ignoring Ben's look of disbelief that his daughter had called _him_ "uncle" as he knelt down in front of Clara and pulled her close to him. He sighed heavily, his fear and anxiety almost showing through as her smaller arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He kissed her cheek before letting go of her before he stood back up. "Thank you, luv."

"You're welcome, Uncle Ian," Clara replied with a smile. "Be careful."

"I will." Ian smiled back down at he. Then, with resented mutters of "be careful" and "best of luck" from Powell and Phil, he and Ben left the room.

When the door shut behind them, Clara gasped as the silver diamond pendant bracelet given to her by Riley suddenly came undone as it fell from around her wrist and hit the hard floor. She stared down at it with wide, fearful eyes as Nick knelt down beside her to make sure that she was all right. When he saw that her favorite piece of jewelry was lying on the floor, he reached forward and picked it up for her. Even though he was able to quickly fix it and put it back on her wrist, Clara still couldn't suppress the one terrible thought that crossed her mind.

"_Uncle Riley!"_

* * *

Abigail slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the door when someone entered. "Ben," she muttered with a smile, her voice heavy with sleep as she pushed herself up against the white pillows so she could sit up more. "How good to see you. When did you get back?"

"About an hour ago. I would have seen you sooner, but the doctors wouldn't let me since you were still recuperating from the surgery," Ben replied, sitting down on the white-sheeted bed beside her. He sighed as he placed his hand gently on the side of her blonde head. "I'm sorry that this happened to you."

"It's okay. It's not a big deal," Abigail told him with a small laugh, placing her hand on top of his other one. "I'm just so happy to see you. How's Patrick?"

"He'll pull through." Ben sighed again, intertwining his fingers with hers.

But Abigail's eyes narrowed as she sensed her husband's mood. "Ben, what's wrong?" she asked anxiously.

Ben lowered his gaze from hers for a minute. "Ian and I are going to Ipatiev House to get Riley," he answered softly. "You know what happened there with the Russian royal family, don't you?"

"Yes, of course," Abigail said. "It was terrible, but what does that have to do with you, Riley, and Ian?"

"This is the first, and most likely only, time that we're going to come in close contact with the deadly toxin that Artem has," Ben muttered. "If by some chance I don't come back…"

"Ben, don't say that!" Abigail interrupted him shrilly in an anxious tone. "You really don't think that there's a chance you won't come back, do you?"

The treasure hunter sighed again, tightening his hold on his wife's hand. "There's a definite possibility that one of us won't make it through this, Abigail. We're dealing with one of the deadliest diseases that's not even fully understood," Ben explained. "I didn't want to have to tell you that, but you had to know the truth. So, if I somehow don't come back, I want you to tell Clara that I love her, and I need you to continue raising her to become a beautiful woman. You can even have Riley move in to keep you guys company."

But Abigail shook her head in protest, tears slowly falling from her eyes. "Please, Ben. Just promise me you'll come back," she begged in a whisper.

"Shh…" Ben pulled his crying wife into his arms and held her close to him, calming his nerves slightly as he breathed in her familiar aroma. "I love you."

"I love you too," Abigail muttered through her tears.

Then, Ben leaned down and kissed her for a long moment. But then, he was gone- off the bed and out of the room before he could change his mind about his decision to go after Riley. Abigail watched the door close behind her husband as she sniffed and wiped her tears away, clutching the white blanket tightly in her hands.

_"You had better come back to me, Benjamin Gates."_

* * *

Ian watched as Ben entered the lobby where he had been waiting while the treasure hunter said goodbye to his wife, a determined expression on his face. "Ready?"

Ben nodded when he approached the English man. "Let's go."

The two men walked out of the hospital and crossed the street to where Phil's rental car was. Ian pulled the keys out of his black jean pocket and unlocked it, climbing in behind the wheel as Ben sat in the passenger seat with the map in his hand.

"Phil said he left this in here for me in case I needed it," Ian muttered, reaching beneath the seat after he moved it quite a distance forward since his legs weren't quite as long. "There it is." A minute later, he pulled out a handgun and laid it on his lap.

Ben smiled slightly as he looked at it nervously while the other man put the key into the ignition and started the car, beginning to drive away from the hospital and in the direction that the treasure hunter directed him in. "_Hold on, Riley,_" Ben thought intently as they headed toward the crown-shaped mountain range. "_We're coming for you._"

* * *

Time seemed to stretch on forever for Riley in the dimly lit basement of the Ipatiev House. But about two hours later, the expected time of arrival for the treasure hunter, the door above opened, casting light into the room as three people came down the stairs. "They're here, Artem," Calina announced as she entered, Ben and Ian close behind, closing the door.

"Ah! Gates, Mr. Howe. Welcome!" Artem greeted cheerfully as he walked toward them. "How nice of you to join us!"

Ben quickly glanced around the room, his eyes finally landing on Riley. The techie looked back at him and gave him a sad, almost defeated smile.

"So, do you have my cure, Gates?" Artem asked once the treasure hunter looked back at him.

With a nod in answer, Ben began to reach into his pocket for the locket, but before he could pull it out, Calina suddenly stepped toward her cousin. "This is wrong, Artem," she spat angrily. "I can't believe that you would risk the fate of the entire world just to prove that you're better than some self-proclaimed holy man! Enough is enough. You can leave me out of any more of your plans. I'm through."

Artem merely watched Calina as she ranted at him with a pleasant smile on his face. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Calina," he muttered once she was finished. "Your computer skills would have been useful to our operation." Then, he suddenly lunged his arm forward and slapped his cousin's face with such force that she was knocked to the floor. Then, the Russian man pulled out a gun that had been hidden on his belt and shot Calina once. Ian pulled out the gun that Phil had left for him in the rental car and aimed it at Artem, but he was too late. Calina was already dead.

Riley raised his terrified gaze back to Artem while Ben and Ian did the same. How could he shoot a member of his own family so easily without even flinching? "Now, Gates. I _want_ my cure," the Russian man hissed angrily, holding his free hand out while he aimed his gun at Riley.

Ben sighed sadly, pulling the golden locket out of his pocket and placing it in Artem's palm. Ian sighed as well, knowing that the treasure hunter had just given away their one chance at bargaining.

"What is this, Gates?" Artem demanded, his eyes furious as he held up the golden locket and lowered his gun again. "Some kind of joke?"

"The cure is inside the locket. We found the confirmation inside of Rasputin's journal," Ben tried to reasonably explain. "But the locket won't open unless there is a need for the cure inside."

"A need for the cure, you say?" Artem muttered, appearing thoughtful. Then, a malicious glint appeared in his eyes as an idea came to him. "Well, if that's the case…" He turned to look at Ivan, who as standing behind him against the wall while he guarded Riley. "I'm terribly sorry that it has to be this way, Ivan. I do hope you can somehow forgive me. I really do appreciate what you've done for me over the years, with you breaking me out of jail and all. I don't want to do this, but it has to be done. I can't allow you to suffer too."

Ivan's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Artem, what-?" was all he had time to get out before the black-haired Russian raised his gun and fired two shots into his chest, watching with a blank expression as the older man slumped to the hard floor, dead. His blind eye remained frozen open, its empty gaze locked on Artem.

Riley cringed as the two shots rang out around them as Ian stared at Artem in shock, lowering his gun a little. Not only had he killed his cousin, but he had also shot and murdered his own henchman. Even though his own men got on his nerves sometimes, Ian knew that he would _never_ kill one of them. The thought may have crossed Shaw's mind a few times, but even his second-in-command would never shoot to kill Powell or Phil or Nick or even Viktor. Artem's mind lay in a field that the English man didn't understand at all.

"Hold this, Gates," Artem suddenly ordered, throwing the golden locket back to Ben. The treasure hunter was so surprised that he barely caught it before he exchanged a nervous look with Ian. Artem then stopped behind Riley's chair after he threw his gun to the floor and pulled out a clot and a tiny vial filled with fine, white powder. He poured it all on to the cloth before wrapping his arm tightly around the techie's neck. The force made Riley's mouth open in surprise as he struggled to breathe.

"There will be a need for the cure, and it will be mine," Artem whispered before he placed the cloth filled with the powder over Riley's mouth and nose as he released his neck. The younger man immediately coughed violently, but he was soon forced to inhale so that he could get air, and what he knew was the toxin, into his body.

Ben's eyes widened in horror as he watched his best friend tense up, realizing what Artem had done as he shouted, "_No!_"

**A/N**: Yeah, really evil cliffie. Somehow, I don't remember exactly, Halo inspired this evil thing that you just read. Again, I don't know how, but she did. Well, thanks for reading! Hopefully my schedule won't be so busy now that school has started up again for me to update. Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer**: Sadly, nothing is mine from "National Treasure," and not even many of my OC's are mine anymore either, lol! Only Nick, Clara, and Artem now…

**A/N**: Hey! Thanks for your quick reviews! Geeze, there was a lot (but don't get the wrong idea- I love them!). I guess all I have to do is throw in a really evil cliffie, huh? Lol, just kidding! You guys are awesome! Luckily, school hasn't really been too hectic yet, so I can still update. Which is good for me, because after this, there's only one more chapter, an epilogue, and a surprise thingy I can now post due to the number of reviews, and I'm putting on the last two on the same day, so that'll be a treat for you guys. Don't mark me, but I'm going to try to get chapter 26 up tomorrow, and then the epilogue/surprise on Saturday. At least, that's what I'm hoping I can do, but I can't guarantee anything. Now, a note about this chapter of mine that I'm about to post. I was going to put the climax in the last chapter, but it got to be too long and started turning into a chapter all on its own. So, that's what I'm going to do. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but it's the whole part of the climax, so I think you'll still like it. It's tense, it's exciting, and who knows what to expect? Thank you so much to **Spellinggirl**, **fallen.leaves.19**, **broadwaylover07**, **daisyduke80**, **Thuraya Known**, **Miss Fenway**, **LoremIpsum**, **SgtGroganSG**, **Halo**, **Rayleigh**, **LupinandHarry**, **Receneck**, and **All-English Reject** for your quick and fantastic reviews (you can tell I've spent all day at school. I just almost spelled "fantastic" wrong, lol)! Enjoy the climax!

**Warning**: Character death. Geeze, this seems to be happening a lot lately…

Chapter 26

"_No_!"

At first, Riley felt nothing as the treasure hunter's anxious shout echoed around him. But then, his eyes shut tightly as an excruciating pain suddenly erupted from everywhere inside of him. An agonized cry of pain escaped from his lips as he fell off of the chair and on to the hard floor. His back arched as another wave of burning pain moved through him, tears falling from his eyes. It was the worst pain that he had ever felt in his life, and all he wanted was for it to stop no matter what. He opened his eyes for a moment as he gasped for air, frantically searching for Ben before he closed them again and tensed up as he bit back another cry when a fresh wave of pain washed over him.

Ben watched his best friend writhing on the floor with terror blooming inside of him. He remembered Riley telling him before they had left for Russia that the toxin felt like fire as it spread through the infected person's body, which was difficult to endure. Then, he turned his attention to the locket he still held in his hand while Ian continued to watch Riley nervously and kept his gun trained on a smirking Artem. "Please work. We need you now," the treasure hunter begged to some unknown force as he pushed down on the latch and tried to pull open the heart-shaped locket.

At first, nothing happened. It still wouldn't open. Ben was filled with dread, knowing that Riley only had a few minutes left before it was too late to heal him. There was a need for the cure now, so why wasn't it opening?

Then, to Ben's relief, there was a small cracking sound and the small door swung open. Though it was completely unexplainable, the treasure hunter knew he didn't have time to question it when he saw what now lay before him. Inside the locket, there was a tiny vial filled with an almost clear liquid. Ben looked at it with resignation as he wondered how many out of the four of them were going to be infected with the disease because there wasn't going to be enough for all of them to take…

Another scream of pain from Riley brought Ben out of his reverie. He knew that it was now or never if he wanted to save the younger man. He had to get the cure to him before it was too late. Ben rushed forward and knelt down beside Riley, who was still writhing on the floor, placing his hand on his tensed back as he used his other hand to turn his tear-stained face toward him. "Riley, listen to me!" he said anxiously.

"No! Don't touch me!" Riley gasped as he pushed the older man away with the little strength that he still had, obviously in extreme pain. Ben would have found it touching that his best friend didn't want him to be infected with the disease if the situation wasn't so dire. But he was once more filled with dread since he had felt the techie's breath on his face, and a slight, burning pain had begun to spread through him. Riley's efforts had failed, and Ben knew that he had become infected too.

But that wasn't going to stop him from helping the younger man first. "I'm going to help you, Riley!" he shouted, hoping that he could get through to him. "I have the cure!"

Suddenly, Ben gasped in surprise and pain when Artem wrapped his arms tightly around his neck in an attempt to strangle him. "No! That cure is _mine_, Gates!" he snapped as he pulled the treasure hunter away from Riley.

Ben struggled to hold back a cry of pain as the toxin continued to spread through his veins and as he tried to force Artem off of him. Somehow, he managed to keep the cure tightly in his hand and away from his adversary's reaching grasp. He finally wrenched the Russian man's arms from around his neck and turned to face him, but he couldn't hold back a cough as air rushed back into his lungs.

Artem cried out in despair as he backed away from the treasure hunter, knowing that his own disease had spread to him too. Ben took the opportunity to continue to crawl toward Riley, who was still thrashing about on the floor with tears falling from his eyes. "Ben!"

The older man stopped for a minute, the sound of Riley calling out his name making his heart break. He had heard the pain in the single word, but also fear. Then, he heard another agonized cry from behind him, and Ben looked over his shoulder. He gasped as his eyes widened in fear at what he saw.

The lone Russian man had found his gun from when he had tossed it away before, and now, he had it aimed directly at Ben's head. "I told you that cure is mine, Gates," he muttered threateningly, his breathing hard while his arms shook from the pain he was experiencing. "I don't care how many people have to die down here as long as that vial is in my hand! And it looks like you're first." He then loaded the gun and placed his finger on the trigger as he prepared to pull it back…

A loud gunshot rang out, and Ben covered his head as he fell to the floor to try to protect himself as best as he could. But he never felt any extra pain than what he was already experiencing. He cautiously lowered his arms and looked up, watching with wide eyes as Artem's gun dropped from his hands and as he collapsed to the floor, dead.

"I took him out of his misery," Ian explained as he lowered his gun when the treasure hunter's questioning eyes landed on him. "But I didn't shoot him just to save your life. I did it to save Riley too. Hurry and get him the cure, Ben!"

Ben immediately turned around to look at his best friend, and he saw with horror that he was now lying still on his back, his face extremely pale and his breath coming in irregular, forceful gasps. "You still have a couple of minutes to get the cure to him, Ben," Ian muttered, checking his watch. He felt a feeling of grim satisfaction knowing that even though his main objective for using the metallic weapon had been to save Ben and Riley, his revenge on Artem was also now complete. "Hurry!"

"Riley!" Ben said anxiously as he crawled over to the younger man. "Riley!" He held the techie's thin frame in one arm while he opened the vial containing the cure in the other. He was alarmed to feel that a high fever had settled into his best friend's body. "Come on, Riley. Take this." He carefully lowered the vial to his lips.

Immediately, Riley almost seemed to choke on the clear liquid, but Ben sighed with relief when the cure for the disease finally made it into his system. Then, he drank a little himself, surprised that the pain was already beginning to edge away a little as it became a little easier to manage. He left some in the vial, though, and the treasure hunter turned back to look at Ian. "Drink the rest, just in case you were infected," Ben advised. "You were exposed, so it can't hurt."

Ian sighed as he put his gun back on his belt and took the vial his friend was offering him. His nose wrinkled at the slightly sweet smell of it, but he managed to drink it down.

Ben smiled slightly, but then his attention was suddenly switched back to Riley when the younger man began to shake violently in his arms. "Riley, what's wrong?"

Riley didn't open his eyes, but his hand tightened on his best friend's arm. "Ben…" he whispered weakly. "So… so cold…"

Worry appeared in Ben's eyes as he awkwardly shoved off his heavy coat and wrapped it tightly around the techie in hopes to warm him. He was confused about why Riley was still suffering when he wasn't. They had both been infected by the disease, and they had both gotten the cure in time. Why was Riley still suffering?

Then, the answer came to him. Riley had received a larger dose of the poison from Artem in its most powerful form- the powder itself. Ben knew that he had only gotten it from Riley quickly breathing on him, so it wasn't nearly as powerful or fast acting.

"Here."

Ben looked up at the sound of Ian's quiet mutter, and he saw with surprise that the English man was holding out his leather jacket for him to take. A small but grateful smile appeared on the treasure hunter's face as he took it from his outstretched hand. "Thanks, Ian." Then, he wrapped the second coat around his best friend's still shivering form. "Hold on, Riley. You're going to be all right. We're going to get you out of here."

"Thank you… Ben…"

The older man blinked in surprise when he looked down on the techie and saw that his eyes were open and his dark blue orbs were looking wearily back up at him. "Riley…"

Suddenly, the basement door crashed open, and Ben and Ian quickly turned around to face the new arrivals, expecting more trouble. They were surprised to see who had entered the basement, for it was three people that they hadn't expected to see.

"Sadusky?" the treasure hunter asked in disbelief when he saw that Peter and his son, Matthew, and blond-haired Agent Johnson were approaching them with their weapons lowered at their sides but ready to be fired if needed. "How did you know where we were?"

"GPS tracking system in your cell phone," the head FBI agent answered simply, kneeling down beside Artem's lifeless body. "I see that our work here is already done." He motioned to Matthew and Johnson to put their guns away as he did the same.

"Yeah. Most of the Russian group is dead while the other two members are already sitting in jail," Ben explained. Then, his gaze saddened when it landed on Calina's body. The only reason she was dead was because she had stood up to Artem when she believed that what he was doing was wrong. It really didn't seem fair… He then noticed that Ian was keeping silent as he hung back away from the three agents, trying to stay as far away from them as possible. Peter Sadusky met his gaze once, but he only gave him a small smile and continued on with his investigation.

Then, Riley's body suddenly tensed again in the treasure hunter's arms as his back arched, and he immediately turned his attention back to the younger man. "What's wrong?" Ben asked anxiously. "Riley?"

"Ben…" Riley muttered as his hand clamped tighter on to his best friend's arm.

Matthew Sadusky ran over to them and knelt down by Ben's side to see what was the matter. "Oh my God, Riley!" he exclaimed, placing his hand gently on top of the techie's dark hair. Then, he turned to look at Peter, who had come to stand behind him. "Dad, he needs medical attention immediately!"

"I'm on it," the older Sadusky replied, already on his cell phone after dialing the number of St. Petersburg General Hospital.

"Riley, hang on," Ben pleaded quietly but fearfully, a thin line of tears forming in his eyes as he gently shook the younger man in an attempt to keep him awake. "Come on, Riley, stay with me!"

The techie looked up into Ben's face, his vision quickly beginning to fade. "Be… Ben…" he was only able to whisper before his eyes rolled back into his head, his hand losing its grip on Ben's arm as it fell to the hard floor and as his head lolled limply against the treasure hunter's shoulder.

"No… _Riley_!"

**A/N**: And… there's another cliffie. Halo's not to blame for this one, though. Sorry about this, guys. Poor Riley's quite not out of hot water yet. But, as I said, this was the climax, so either way, this was going to be the end of a chapter. It just turned out to be two evil cliffies instead of just one. But, even though this chapter's shorter, it's the entire climax, so I hope you enjoyed it! Also, as I said before, I hope that I can get the _last_ chapter up tomorrow, but if not, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to on Saturday. Basically, you shouldn't have to wait too long to find out how this whole epic journey ends. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movies are mine, and only Nick and Clara are my only OCs now! Lol.

**A/N**: Wow, you guys are amazing! And since you are so amazing, I've decided to treat you all to the _final_ chapter! I can't believe we're here already, can you? It's incredible. But anyway, hopefully I can get the epilogue and surprise up tomorrow, but at least this will hold you off until then. At least you'll all know what happens to Riley! So, thank you so, so much to **Thuraya Known**, **Rayleigh**, **broadwaylover07**, **Receneck**, **daisyduke80**, **Spellinggirl**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Miss Fenway**, **LoremIpsum**, **Halo**, **SgtGroganSG**, and** LupinandHarry** for your quick reviews! So, without further ado, let's move on to the _final_ chapter!

**Note** (not warning, see?): The last two sections of this chapter are meant to be emotional, not lighthearted like the last one. So, for the full effect of the last two sections, you really should listen to the song "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. It's much more beautiful that way, and will affect you more, I think. So, for the last two chapters, listen to that song. Oh, and no slash, of course. Enjoy!

Chapter 26

"Are you sure that you're feeling all right, Ben? You were exposed to the poison more than I was."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel exhausted, probably from going through some of the effects of it. I'm more concerned about Riley though. I really owe you one, Ian. If it wasn't for you, I don't know if I would have been able to get the cure to him in time if you weren't there."

"Of course, Ben. I couldn't let you guys die by Artem's hand, could I? And Riley will be all right. The doctor said that it's just exhaustion and slight physical trauma from the toxin, correct?"

"That's what he said. His body temperature dropped back to normal from his incredibly high fever at such a fast rate, which added to the physical shock along with the extreme pain. And he's more exhausted than I am since he had the poison in a more powerful dose. He'll just be weak for some time, and the doctor said that we could leave as soon as he feels ready since there's nothing really wrong with him. Abigail's completely recovered from the surgery, so she's ready to go home."

"Then what are you so worried about? You just said yourself that Riley's going to be fine. And your FBI friends contained the vial and cloth that Artem used to infect Riley, along with his body, and had all the information that could be used to recreate the disease destroyed so it couldn't happen again. What's wrong?"

"I don't know, Ian. It's just that… I've never come so close to losing him. He's my best friend, my little brother, and sometimes I feel like I take him for granted. It just took me this long to realize it. What if I wouldn't have been able to get to him in time?"

"You don't take him for granted, Ben, and Riley knows that. You got him the cure in time and he's going to be just fine, so don't be so hard on yourself. Come on, try to smile now. He could be waking up at any moment."

"All right. Thanks, Ian…"

Riley was instantly confused. The two voices he heard were very familiar to him, though he wasn't quite sure who they belonged to, but why were they talking about a strange person and him having physical trauma? They had also mentioned a doctor, which could have meant a hospital. Great. He hated hospitals. And why was he so tired?

Suddenly, his memory came back to him, and he remembered being held hostage by Artem in the basement of Ipatiev House, and Ben and Ian had come to rescue him by giving Artem the cure to the disease, which is what he had wanted. Things hadn't gone over so well, and Calina and Ivan had both been shot and killed by Artem before the Russian man had forced him to inhale the toxin. One of the things Riley clearly remembered about that was the excruciating pain that he had felt afterward, and he had wanted it to stop, no matter what it took. That thought had scared him, and all he wanted at that point was to be by his best friend. Things kind of went blurry after that when he felt a fever come on, and the next thing he remembered was Ben giving him this strange-tasting liquid. Then, he had suddenly felt extremely cold, and Ben had wrapped his and Ian's jackets around him, which had helped warm him a little. He remembered Sadusky, his son, and another blond FBI agent show up at that point, and then he remembered nothing. Everything had gone black.

Riley was suddenly in a panic. Was Artem still there too? What about the disease? Was it still around? Where was he? With a terrified gasp, his eyes snapped open, and he anxiously looked around the room. That was a bad move on his part, because he suddenly felt very dizzy.

"Are you all right, Riley? It's okay. You're safe here. It's all over now."

After another tense moment, Riley breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that Artem wasn't anywhere in sigh and that he seemed to be in a somewhat safe location while he lay in a white-sheeted bed. But then, he remembered hearing the two voices in the all white room with him, one that stood out to him in particular that sounded gentle and kind, and he looked to the right of his strange bed to the two people that were standing beside him. "Ben? Ian?"

A relieved smile spread across Ben's face when he met his best friend's gaze. Even Ian had a small smile on his own face when he saw that the younger man was okay. "Hey, Riley," the treasure hunter said. "How are you feeling?"

Riley took a moment to think about his answer. He was feeling exhausted, but that was probably obvious. Otherwise, he felt fine. Nothing hurt anyway… Then, a mischievous grin appeared on the techie's face when his eyes landed on Ian, and remembering the story Nick had told him, replied, "Like I got run over by a train."

Ian groaned as he put his face into his hand and Riley laughed, leaving Ben completely confused. "Not you too…" the English man muttered. "Nick told you about that night, didn't he?"

The techie grinned. "Yep," he confirmed. "But really, guys, I'm fine. I'm just really, really tired. When can I leave?"

"Whenever you feel up to it," Ben told him. "There's nothing the doctors can do anymore since there's not really anything wrong with you because of Rasputin's cure, which you thankfully got in time."

"Great! Let's go then!" Riley was glad to hear that Ben had gotten the cure to him in time and that there was no more poison in him. He was also excited about the thought of leaving the hospital.

Ben looked hesitant at Riley's enthusiasm. "I don't know, Riley," he muttered. "I mean, you just woke up having a deadly toxin in you…"

Riley rolled his eyes in annoyances. "Ben, you know how I feel about hospitals," he replied. "Besides, I think that I'll heal better when I'm at home, surrounded by my caring friends in a place that's familiar to me."

After a long moment of a silent, yet heated, debate that consisted of staring at a determined Riley, Ben finally sighed and nodded. "All right then, Riley, if you feel up to it, we can leave," he relented, reaching down and picking up a plastic bag at his feet. He pulled out a white t-shirt, a dark blue hoodie, and a pair of jeans and set them on the bed beside the techie. "Get changed. We'll be waiting outside in the hall for you."

"Thanks, Ben. You too, Ian," Riley quietly said as the two men headed for the door. "For everything. I owe you guys my life."

Ben smiled back at him in response before following Ian out into the hallway. He sighed as he closed the door behind him before running his hand through his hair and leaning back against the wall. "Finally, it's over," he said, closing his eyes. "We can go home."

"Well, you guys can," Ian muttered, a small but resigned smile on his face.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, opening his eyes and turning his head to look at the English man. But he didn't have to say anything before Ben remembered the answer. Ian and his group were still wanted by the FBI. "Oh."

Then, both men turned when they heard footsteps approaching them, and they watched as Agents Peter and Matthew Sadusky and Johnson come to a stop in front of them. "How is he?" the head agent wondered, nodding toward the hospital room occupied by Riley.

"He's fine," Ben told him. "We'll be leaving as soon as he gets dressed, and then we'll be heading straight for the airport so we can go home. All of us." He cast a meaningful look to Ian.

"That's good to hear that Riley's recovered over that ordeal," Peter said, walking forward to stand before Ben. Then, he lowered his voice so that only the treasure hunter could hear him. "I must say that I am slightly disappointed that you accepted Mr. Howe's help before mine though, Ben."

"Well, we actually just bumped into each other here in Russia, Sadusky," Ben muttered with a slight laugh. "I didn't plan on working with him, honest. It just kinda' worked out since we had both dealt with Artem before. But I wouldn't have been able to save Riley or stop Artem if it wasn't for Ian. Just something I think you should keep in mind."

Sadusky nodded silently in response before turning his attention to Ian. "Well, Mr. Howe," he announced with a sigh. "Since you helped Ben in this critically important mission of his, I will pardon you and your men for the time being. But if any one of you steps even a toe out of line, it'll mean prison for all of you. Do you understand?"

Ian looked at the head FBI agent in shock for a minute before nodding as a smile appeared on his face. "Yes. Thank you so much, Agent Sadusky."

The agent smiled in return. "You helped to save the world, Mr. Howe," he said. "I can't throw you in prison for that."

Matthew smiled as well, happy with his father's decision, while Agent Johnson nodded approvingly. But they both knew that Agent Hendricks wouldn't be pleased when they returned to the States. He still hadn't gotten over his grudge against Ian…

"Daddy!"

Ben gasped in surprise when he was suddenly attacked by a small form with bouncing blonde hair, and he smiled as he picked his daughter up into his arms. "Hey there, Clara!" Then, his eyes narrowed in confusion when he saw what she was wearing. "Since when did you have a leather jacket?"

"That's what I would like to know," Abigail muttered, slowly limping toward her husband. Her arms were still wrapped around Powell's for support, and Phil was still walking beside her in case she needed an extra hand.

"Powell and Phil took a taxi to the store to keep themselves occupied while I stayed here with Clara," Nick supplied the answer for them both as he stood next to Ian, being pulled into a one-armed hug by the older man. "Clara had lost her coat while we were in Siberia, so they wanted to get her a new one. And she had grown attached to Powell's so…"

"But did it have to be leather?" Ben asked, though a small smile had appeared on his face.

"Well, since it _is_ leather, she truly is one of us now," Powell answered cheerfully, holding up his large hand and getting a high five from Clara.

Abigail rolled her eyes, but she still laughed a little at the comment. "_Wonderful_," she muttered sarcastically. She then let go of Powell's arm and put her arms around Ben's waist, who moved Clara to one arm so he could hug his wife as well. Then, he leaned down and kissed her while Clara made a disgusted face, which made Ian, Nick, Powell, and Phil laugh as they moved to stand together.

"Is it a good thing that we're influencing this innocent child?" Phil wondered casually as the hospital room door opened and Riley stepped into the hallway, immediately joining Ben, Abigail, and Clara.

"Of course," Ian told him with a smile, watching as Clara moved into Riley's arms and hugged him tightly. "With Ben and Abigail as her parents and Riley as her uncle, we're the only chance she has of being cool!"

* * *

The plane ride home was uneventful, for the group of eight slept for the entire duration of the trip while the FBI agents conversed quietly so they wouldn't wake them, so they could catch up on their much-needed rest. Abigail was content in the security of Ben's arms and Clara was on Riley's lap beside them while she leaned her head against Nick. Ian, Powell, and Phil sat behind them, all resting back against their seats while the tallest member had to stretch his legs into the aisle a little to be comfortable.

It was hard to wake up once the plane landed in New York, but at least they had a drive to Washing D.C. still ahead of them to sleep through.

But as soon as they came out of the airport with their luggage, Ian was shocked when he, Nick, Powell, and Phil were confronted by a team of FBI agents led by Agent Hendricks and Agent Dawes, all with their guns drawn. "I thought you said that we were pardoned," Ian growled angrily, turning his head to look at Sadusky.

"You are," Agent Sadusky told him before stepping past him to confront the two agents while Matthew and Johnson ordered the others to lower their weapons immediately. "Hendricks, Dawes. What do you think you're doing? I didn't order you here!"

"Apprehending the escaped convicts, Sir," Hendricks explained, still not lowering his gun from where it was aimed at Ian even though Dawes lowered hers a little. "You even said yourself that the next time we saw him, Ian Howe would go to prison, Sir. After you left for Russia and we got your call that you were about to return, we came here to wait for him since he was with you and Mr. Gates."

"For your information, I have pardoned Mr. Howe and his associates, Hendricks," Sadusky told him, forcefully pushing down on his gun in order to lower it for him. "_Never_, under _any_ circumstances, act unless I order you to. And besides, if it wasn't for their help, we would all be dead right now since the Russians would have released that disease. Is that how you repay them by throwing them in prison?!"

Hendricks sighed as he failed at staring down Agent Peter Sadusky, and he cast a dark look to the English man as he resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be arresting Ian Howe that day. Then, he put his gun on his belt before he and Agent Dawes were led away by Agent Johnson.

"Ian, I'm going to go get my car," Phil muttered when there was no longer a gun pointed at him, and Sadusky was pushing all of the agents back from them.

"All right. Go," Ian replied quietly, instantly relieved that Phil had driven to the airport so they could make a quick escape.

Once they realized that they were going to be able to leave, Powell and Nick began shaking hands with Ben, Riley, and Abigail before they both got a huge hug from Clara. Ian then did the same, but once he got to Ben, he was confused when there was an entertained smile on the treasure hunter's face. "What?"

"Ian, it is fun to be in the same decade with you." When he saw the English man's bewildered expression, Ben decided to elaborate. "That was what President Franklin D. Roosevelt said to Prime Minister Winston Churchill after World War Two…"

"Yeah, I know that, Ben, it's just that I can't see either one of us being President or Prime Minister," Ian interrupted.

Ben's smile broadened. "Well, you never know."

"All right then, it's highly unlikely," Ian laughed as Phil's car pulled up in front of them. He nodded to the treasure hunter then, as well as giving him a slight wave of his hand while Nick and Powell threw all of their luggage into the trunk. "Later, Ben." The English man then climbed into the car with Powell and Nick, and then Phil drove away from the airport and out of sight.

"Well, should we get going too?" Ben asked as he picked up Clara into his arms, relieved that all of his family had returned home. "I think I remember where we parked…"

Abigail put her arms around Ben again as she kissed him before exchanging bright smiles with both her husband and Riley. "Yes," she told them, her eyes gleaming. "I say it's time we went home."

* * *

_"You raise me up so I can stand on mountains._

_You raise me up to walk on stormy seas…"_

"What we need to do the next time we go on a hung is to designate a rendezvous point," Ian told Nick, Powell, and Phil. "If we want to prevent something like what happened in Russia, we need to have a spot where we can meet if things go wrong and we all get separated or something like that. That way, there hopefully won't be a repeat of what happened when we were at Artem's uncle's house. Shaw and I had one when we pulled jobs in England before we came to America in case a job ever went bad. It's an effective system."

Ian, Powell, Phil, and Nick were sitting in the living area of the hotel room they were temporarily using in Washington D.C. until they gathered enough money together to rent a two-bedroom apartment. The English man was sipping a cup of hot tea while Nick had a soda, and both Powell and Phil had a beer.

"Well, was there ever a time where you and Shaw needed to use your rendezvous point?" Powell asked, taking a drink of his beer before grabbing a handful of sour cream and onion chips out of the bag the four of them were sharing.

The English man sighed as he took a sip of his tea, not meeting the other man's gaze. "There was only one time where a job I pulled with Shaw went bad for us… and two of you were there for it," he answered quietly.

Phil glanced over at Powell, and the Scotsman looked down at the bottle that he held in his hands, both knowing what Ian was referring to. Nick looked at his older stepbrother carefully as he tried to read his expression, and Ian met his gaze for a long moment before he slowly shook his head and looked away from the younger man. But in that moment when their gazes had been locked, Nick had seen the sorrow in the English man's eyes and knew what job he had been talking about. Even though it was ten years later, Ian still felt the pain of Shaw's death as strongly as he had when it first happened. Nick remembered that the last time he had seen his stepbrother this hurt was when Ian had first told him about what had happened beneath Trinity Church when he had visited him in prison ten years before…

_"I bet Shaw's in there with you right now, planning some miraculous way for you guys to break out," Nick teased, looking at his stepbrother through the window of his jail cell. "You two can't be parted."_

_Ian, who was standing directly on the other side of the door to talk to the younger man, sighed as he slowly shook his head. "No, Nick. He's not," he replied. "I'm in here alone."_

_Nick blinked with surprise. "Really? I thought that Shaw would have put up such a big fight that you two would have to be kept together," he commented. "Is he in a different cell? I'll have to visit him too."_

"_No, that won't be possible, Nick," Ian muttered, a thin line of tears forming in his eyes. "He's not here at all. He never even made it out of Trinity Church, Nick. Shaw is dead."_

Nick remembered clearly that he had been deeply impacted by the simple, three word sentence- _Shaw is dead._ But no matter how affected he was by Shaw's death, he knew that it wasn't anything compared to what Ian was experiencing even still. Though ten years had passed since Shaw died, the same amount of pain was still there that had been there since the moment he fell.

Only then, at that moment, did Nick realize that Shaw had been closer to Ian than Powell, Phil, or even he himself was. He wanted more than anything to take the pain of his death away, but he knew that the more he tried, the more he realized that he wasn't Shaw, and he could never take his place.

And he knew that only Shaw himself could have stopped that pain.

* * *

Ben slowed his car to a stop in front of the iron gate of the cemetery across the street from a familiar red Ferrari, shutting it off before grabbing the three red roses from the passenger seat and climbing out. He had tried to call Riley earlier that morning and was worried when he couldn't get a hold of him. Then, fearing that something may have been wrong, he had driven to the apartment building where Riley's elderly neighbor, Eleanor, had told him that the techie had gone to the cemetery to visit his parents' graves. After stopping at the nearest floral shop, Ben had gone straight to the cemetery to find his younger friend.

Gray clouds covered the sky and the air felt cold enough to snow as Ben walked through the rows of graves, the somewhat frozen, dead grass crunching beneath his feet. Many names flashed at him as he passed by them, including the grave of his grandfather, as he searched for Riley. His best friend soon came into view on the other side of a small hill standing in front of two headstones, and Ben came to a stop beside him. It would appear that Riley didn't hear him approach since he didn't even look over at him, but the treasure hunter knew that he _did_ know that he was there, he just wasn't in the mood for his company at that moment.

Ben decided that he would let Riley be the first one to talk when he was ready, and so he turned his attention to the gravestones that the younger man was staring at so intently. One belonged to Jeremy Poole, Riley's father, and the one beside it belonged to Alexandra Poole, Riley's mother, who had died a long time before Jeremy had.

"He wanted to be buried here when he died, with our parents."

"What?" Ben looked back up at his friend when he heard the quiet statement. It had been so quiet that it was almost silent, and he wasn't even sure if his companion had actually said anything.

Riley took a deep breath, still not looking away from the two graves. "Dustin… wanted to be buried here with our parents," he repeated in a voice that was barely above a whisper. His face was pale, but his cheeks were pink from standing in the cold air, and tears quickly sprung to his eyes. "I don't know if I told you this, Ben, but when Artem infected me with the disease, I thought for sure that I wasn't going to make it through, and you would be seeing a third headstone there." He paused, gesturing to an open space beside Alexandra's grave. "Dustin was supposed to be buried there, and then me on his other side. But now, that's not going to happen…"

Ben sighed and put his arm around Riley's shoulders when he heard the techie's voice falter. "He may not be buried here, Riley, but his spirit is with your parents now, like it should be," he told him in an assuring way. He then stepped forward and dropped one of the three roses he had brought on the first grave… Jeremy Poole. He dropped another rose on the second grave… Alexandra Poole. And then, he dropped the final rose on the empty spot where a third grave should have been… Dustin Poole.

When he saw his best friend do this kind, symbolic gesture, Riley finally broke down as he took a deep, shuddering breath and the tears he had been fighting to keep inside finally fell from his eyes. Ben went back to him and pulled the younger man into his arms and held him tight, hoping that the action would console his friend, his brother. Riley buried his face in the treasure hunter's shoulder as sobs continued to escape from him.

The two friends stood that way for a long time before Riley's breathing finally calmed. He wiped the tears out of his eyes as he pulled away from the older man. "Thanks, Ben," he muttered, taking a deep, steadying breath to calm himself further.

"Of course, Riley," Ben replied quietly, keeping his arm around the techie's shoulders. "You know that I'm always here for you. Now, come on. Let's get you home."

The younger man allowed himself to be steered away from the two graves, but then he stopped when he saw tiny, white flakes in front of his face that were falling from the sky. "Snow?" Riley asked quietly in confusion, looking up at the gray clouds above. "That's weird. It hardly ever snows…"

Ben looked up at the sky in wonder too, but then he pulled the younger man along as they headed toward the cemetery exit. But before they got too far, Riley glanced back at his parents' graves, and he blinked in surprise when he heard a strange sound reach his ears on the cold wind. But then, a small smile appeared on his face when he realized that it almost sounded like Dustin's teasing laugh, a sound that he was incredibly familiar with and would now forever treasure. Now feeling slightly better, he willingly walked with Ben as they left the graveyard together, the sound of Dustin's laugh still echoing in his mind.

_"Be careful, little brother."_

_"...I am strong when I am on your shoulders._

_"You raise me up to more than I can be."_

**A/N**: Well, guys. That's the end of the actual story! Kinda sad at the end there, huh? But I hope you enjoyed it! Credit for Clara's leather jacket goes to Halo's sister, Hannah! Thank you so much, dear! It made a great touch to the story! Thanks for reading, everyone! Your reviews are much appreciated so that I can get the epilogue and surprise up! Thank you!


	27. Epilogue

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movie is mine, except in this little epilogue, Clara is.

**A/N**: Wow, guys! I'm so glad that you liked the end of the real story. Now for the fun stuff, right? It's so good to hear that you loved the entire story! It makes me so happy that I've been able to write something that you really enjoy! There is no better compliment to a reader! And I don't know about this "another story" thing that I've been hearing. I mean, do you guys think that I could really beat this one? That's the only way I'll write a third one, I think, if I know that it can be better than the one before it. So, I don't know about another one, guys. The idea will have to be something completely special and unique, I think. So, I don't know. Anyway, thank you so much to **broadwaylover07**, **Receneck**, **Miss Fenway**, **daisyduke80**, **Thuraya Known**, **All-English Reject**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, and **momiji'sunusedhalo **for your quick reviews! Enjoy the funny, fluffy update!

Epilogue

"What story are you going to tell me tonight, Daddy?" Clara asked excitedly when Ben came into her bedroom and sat down on the bed beside her.

Ben smiled down at his daughter. "Well, I'm going to try an 'Uncle Riley' approach tonight," he answered. "I'm going to tell you the story of _Peter Pan_, which is a fictional story I think you'll like. It's about a boy that never grows up." In the truth of the matter, the main reason that he was changing story genres was because after what happened in St. Petersburg, Russia, he was a little tired of telling history stories. It was time for a change.

Clara smiled brightly with excitement. This must have been a story that Riley hadn't gotten around to telling her yet. But when Ben told her about the three children, Wendy and her two brothers John and Michael, and their radically different parents along with their dog that was their nanny, and had begun to move into how their father wanted Wendy to grow up, the eight-year-old frowned ad crossed her arms in front of her. The treasure hunter paused, confused by her reaction. "What is it, Clara?" he wondered.

"You don't tell it right, Daddy," Clara told him bluntly.

Ben thought her statement over for a minute. "What do you mean I don't tell it right?" he said. "I thought you haven't heard this story before."

Clara sighed. "I haven't," she explained, remembering another person who had once told her a story. "It just doesn't sound… right. Couldn't Uncle Ian tell it? His stories sound cool when he tells them!"

She wanted _Ian_ to tell her the story?! Why on earth would she think of Ian? But that was when Ben remembered that Ian had an English accent. Of course that would sound cool to her. "Well, Uncle Ian isn't here right now, so…"

"You could call him, couldn't you?" Clara pressed, interrupting him. "Please, Daddy?"

Ben sighed, looking at his daughter for a long moment before finally getting to his feet. When she made that face at him, he couldn't refuse. "All right," he muttered. "I'll be back in a minute."

Clara smiled brightly at her father's retreating back as he left the room. Ben sighed as he entered the hallway and entered the room he shared with Abigail that was next to his daughter's. "That was fast," his wife commented with a smile when she saw him enter.

"I haven't even told her a story yet," Ben replied, picking up his cell phone off the dresser.

Abigail's smile vanished and was replaced with a look of confusion. "Then what are you doing?" she asked.

Ben sighed as he dialed a familiar number. "I'm calling Ian."

"Ian? Why?"

Before Ben could reply, an English accent answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Ian," Ben said. "Is now a bad time?"

"No, not really," Ian replied. "We're just watching television in our hotel room. Why, what's going on?"

Ben sighed again. "Ian, I need you to do me a huge favor," Ben told him.

"I will if I can," Ian answered him, hearing the seriousness in the treasure hunter's tone and wondered what he could possibly want. "What is it?"

"I need you to tell Clara a bedtime story."

There was a moment of shocked silence on the other end. "Tell Clara a bedtime story," he repeated. His tone made it a disbelieved statement, not a question.

"If you could," Ben said. "It's just _Peter Pan_, so it's nothing elaborate. I'm sure you know that story."

The treasure hunter could almost hear Ian's eyes roll. "Of course I know that story, Ben," he replied. "After all, the author was British and parts of the story take place in England. All right, fine. I'll tell it to her."

Ben sighed, but this time with relief. "Thanks, Ian. You're a lifesaver," he muttered as he left the room and entered the hallway. "I'm putting you on speaker, okay?"

"Okay."

Clara's eyes brightened up when Ben entered her room again with his cell phone. She watched him sit down on the bed again as he set the small phone beside him. "All right, Ian. Go for it."

And so, Clara laid back against her pillows as Ian told her the story of _Peter Pan_, from the children's flight to Neverland, to the mermaids, to the jealous Tinkerbell, to the crocodile with the ticking clock inside of him, to the Indian Tribe with Princess Tiger Lily, and finally to the dangerous Captain hook when he made Wendy walk off the plank and battled with Peter until he was finally defeated before Peter returned the tree children, along with the gang of Lost Boys, to their home in London. When he finished the story by saying that all of the children were tucked safely in their beds, Clara herself was fast asleep.

"Thanks again, Ian," Ben whispered so he wouldn't wake Clara as he took the cell phone off speaker. He himself had to admit that the story of _Peter Pan_ was better told by someone with a British accent. "She's out like a light."

"I'm glad that I was able to get her to sleep," Ian replied as Ben stepped out into the hallway after turning off his daughter's bedroom light and shut the door.

"What would you have done if telling her the story didn't work?" Ben asked as a joke as he smiled. "Gather the other three guys and sing her to sleep?"

Ian laughed at little at the image Ben's teasing produced. "Well, we do have all four parts," he answered. "But I'm going to go now, Ben. I guess just call me if you need my help telling Clara a bedtime story again or to save the world or something, okay?"

Ben smiled. "Okay, I will. Bye, Ian."

"Later, Ben."

**A/N**: See, just fun and fluffy! Clara wants her Uncle Ian to tell her bedtime stories, lol. What a funny image. Ian Howe telling bedtime stories… Just another fun note. When I was little, probably around Clara's age, _Peter Pan_ (the real J. M. Barrie version, not the Disney movie) was I think my favorite story. My mom and I would go down to the lake every Wednesday evening during the summer to hear professional band concerts, and we met two older Italian sisters there. One of them would always take me on a walk on this path that was around the lake, and one time, I brought my _Peter Pan_ book with me because I wanted it to be read to me. So she did, and she changed her voice for the different characters, and she even acted it out while we walked (right down to when Captain Hook ties Wendy's hands behind her back and makes her walk the plank- she would use me as Wendy, lol). After that, I didn't want anyone else to read me _Peter Pan_, and I would always bring that book since I loved hearing her tell it so much. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the fun and fluffy element of this epilogue after all that drama and intensity. So, now I'm off to the surprise. See you there! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	28. After the Credits Ending

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movie is mine, except in this little update thing, Nick is the only thing that's mine.

**A/N**: So, now here's the surprise. I'm afraid it's not a trailer or anything like that, but it's actually another "after the credits ending." I know that for my last story, it was really lighthearted and random. But not this time. This time, it is a more serious update that actually pertains to the story. Yeah, there is some lightheartedness in it, but it's not random per se. So, I hope you enjoy my _final_ update for this story!

"After the Credits" Ending

"You tell one hell of a story, Ian!" Powell announced once the English man closed his cell phone after his discussion with Ben. "You almost had Phil asleep over there." He gestured to Phil, who was stretched out on the couch beside his chair.

"I'm tired, man," Phil protested quietly in his defense as he turned his head away from Powell.

Ian laughed at them. "Funny, guys," he muttered, putting the phone back in his pocket. "Just don't get too used to it, okay?"

"I don't know about that, Ian," Phil said from the couch, turning his head back to look at him. "Clara will probably want you to tell her all of her bedtime stories from now on."

"We'll see about that…" Ian muttered, but he had a feeling that he was right. Ben's stories just wouldn't do justice anymore for their niece.

"You never told _me_ bedtime stories when we were growing up," Nick suddenly complained from his spot on the chair.

Ian grinned as he sat back down on the floor at his feet since Powell occupied the other chair. "You were never that cute," he told him with a smile, causing his younger stepbrother to make a face at him.

"Maybe if you had put your hair in pigtails and wore a Shirley Temple mask, you would have been cute enough, Nick," Powell teased with a broad smile. "Your hair's long enough now to make small ones."

Nick glared at him, but all four men were soon laughing at the image that was now in their minds of a young Nick in pigtails and freckles. But Ian was the first to stop laughing as his smile vanished. How could it have taken so long for him to remember to do this?

The English man stood up from the floor as quickly but silently as he could and moved past the other three men, who were now talking about what Powell or Phil, if he had more hair, would look like in pigtails and freckles. He slipped into the bedroom of their hotel room without them noticing, and he locked the door behind him so he could be alone. Ian took out his cell phone again and dialed a number he knew well that he hadn't used in a long time. He sighed as he waited almost anxiously when the phone began to ring, beginning to pace a little.

After the third ring, a man with a deep, English accent answered the phone. "Hello?"

A small grin appeared on Ian's face when he heard the voice he hadn't heard in a long time that belonged to the face he hadn't seen in years. "Hey. Got a minute?"

**The End**

**A/N**: And yep, that's the end. Sorry, guys! But yeah, that's the final update. I know it's kinda evil, but I couldn't find a better way to end the story. So, again, I hope you enjoyed it now that the whole story is complete! You guys are like the best reviewers ever, and I couldn't ask for better ones! You guys rock! So, thank you so, so much for reading this story, and your reviews are still greatly appreciated. Thank you!


	29. Trailer

**A/N (Please read! Important!)**: Okay, I'm so sorry for not posting this with the epilogue and "after the credits" ending! This is the true surprise that I've been talking about in my author's notes, and I really wanted to surprise you with it. So, that's why I tried to put you all in the mindset that there wasn't going to be a third story and marked the story as complete. But now, since I couldn't bring myself to not post it any longer, here it is! In truth, I've been mapping out and planning this story for about four months now, which was about a little after I started "The Forgotten Heir," so many references that are made in that story are actually setting up for this one. And what I said before about sequels was true- if I didn't think that I could make it better than the previous one, I wouldn't do it. This one is going to be the best one for sure, guys, but it's also going to be the darkest by far. I'm going to warn you now that it will be rated a higher "T" (not "M" because it's not at that level), but a higher, darker "T." Still, I think you'll all enjoy it. But why don't you all be the judge? Take a look at the "trailer" and let me know what you think! Thanks!

_A black screen, voiceover of a young voice speaking in an English accent_

"I was so scared. I couldn't tell who anyone was."

_Flash an image of people dressed up and dancing, all wearing masks. Flash a second image of a man wearing a mask with vampire features, leaning slowly toward the woman he's dancing with as a soft but kind laugh is heard_

"Well, Son. That's the point of a masquerade, to hide your true self from the world."

_Flash an image of the man with the vampire mask slowly reaching up to remove it as the boy speaks again_

"But why would you pretend to be an evil monster like Dracula?"

_Shows an image of the small, blond-haired boy looking up at an unseen man as another laugh is heard_

"Even Count Dracula was once a gentleman."

_Screen goes black for a moment. A soft click is heard as the small flame from a lighter appears and lights a cigarette. The outline of a man's face is shown for a second before the screen goes completely black once more_

"I promise you, Abigail, no more treasure hunts. My life is now devoted to my family."

**Benjamin Gates has given up his passion of hunting for treasure,**

_Shows Ben watching as Clara, now fifteen, walks down the stairs in a flowing white dress holding a shimmering mask in her gloved hand_

**Ben**:"You look beautiful."

_Shows Clara smiling brightly as she hugs her father_

**Clara**: "Thanks, Daddy."

**And the lives of all the members of the Gates family have returned to normal…**

_Flashes an image of a proud Abigail, a beaming Riley, and a smiling Ian_

_Screen suddenly goes black. Fades into a shot of a man riding a horse across a vast lawn toward a dark, looming castle_

**Voiceover of man with a heavy accent**: "28 June- This is my last meeting with Count Dracula to form an agreement to bring an end to this dreadful battle."

_Cuts to an image of a man with a dark aura of high authority standing at the entrance of the castle wearing black robes. He pushes back a strand of his midnight hair and a smirk appears on his face as he pleasantly greets the man arriving_

**Voiceover of man with a heavy accent**: "He appears pleasant, but each time I am invited to his home, I get a strange chill. There is an unnatural aura in this place. I feel that there is more to this man than meets the eye."

_Flashes to an image of an emerald-handled dagger behind Count Dracula's back as he leads the man inside. The door shuts heavily; cuts sharply to a black screen._

**Voiceover of man with a heavy accent**: "I fear that this may be my last entry. Oh, help my soul, Oh God above!"

**A startling discover has been made**

_Shows an older man waving a worn, leather book in front of him as he advances toward Ian, who is backing away and slowly shaking his head_

**Older man with heavy English accent**: "This journal can give us every clue we need to find this and prove once and for all who Dracula really was!"

**Ian**: "I will not help you. This is something that is out of our control."

_Shows Ian leaving the room and slamming the door behind him, the man glaring darkly after him_

**Riley**: "Dracula? You mean _the_ Count Dracula?"

**That could lead to the key of one of the darkest eras in history,**

_Shows Ian closing a book as he sighs and runs a hand through his hair_

**Riley** _(sarcastically)_: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest one of all?"

_Flashes an image of Ben rolling his eyes while Clara laughs_

**And Benjamin Gates is pulled into a hunt that he cannot resist.**

_Shows Ben picking up his cell phone and bringing it to his ear_

**Ben**: "Hello?"

**Phil** _(over phone)_: "Ben, we need you. Ian's been missing for a week."

_Shows Ben looking behind him at Riley and Abigail_

**Riley**: "It's nine' o'clock. Do you know where _your_ Ian is?"

_Shows Ben hugging Abigail tightly_

**Ben**: "I'm sorry, Abigail."

_Shows Abigail looking away from Ben and shaking her head with disappointment_

_Shows a smiling Ian as he hands Ben a flashlight_

**Ian **_(Voiceover)_: "What would you ever do without me?"

**The race has begun for the search for the answer to the mystery of the man who became a legend…**

_Shows Ben placing a hand on the shoulder of a nervous looking Riley_

**Ben**: "Come on, Riley. I really need you with me on this one."

**Riley** _(with a wide, forced smile)_: "Just stop and think for once, Ben. We are dealing with a crazy man who is the inspiration for the story of the lord of vampires. What could _possibly_ go wrong?"

**There is a fine line between man and myth as reality turns into dreams…**

**Older man with heavy English accent**: "It is said that he can enter dreams and torture the mind."

_Shows Riley laughing nervously as Abigail places her hand on his shoulder reassuringly_

_Cuts to a stone gargoyle with Riley leaning toward it, and then jumps back, startled, when the ruby eyes flash_

**Clara** _(Voiceover)_: "I'm not going crazy, Daddy! There's someone here with us!"

_Shows Nick reaching forward and grabbing Ian's arm, who turns to look back at him with frustration_

**Nick**: "We're here for you, Ian. You don't have to do this alone."

**Dreams turn into nightmares…**

_Shows an image of a man with dark hair and a pale face in a hand mirror_

**Riley **_(Voiceover)_: "I can't take this anymore!"

_Shows a worried Ben pulling a panicked Riley close to him as he sobs, Ben attempting to calm him as he sighs heavily. Screen goes black_

**Ben**: "I'm so sorry, Riley. I didn't mean for this to happen. None of this should be happening."

**As Ben and his family risk it all to keep themselves from becoming a mere story…**

_Shows a sequence of shots in slow motion_:

_A horrified Nick watching as a building explodes_

_Phil dropping to his knees as Powell attempts to comfort him_

_A sobbing Clara_

_Ian sighing heavily and hanging his head_

_Ben putting his head into his hands_

_Clara dancing with a masked boy, fades to Clara performing on a stage_

_The night sky with the moon lining up with the planets through the clouds_

_A black-haired boy placing a wooden cross in Clara's hand_

_Ian slowly reaching for a hand mirror lying on the ground_

_Clara picking up an emerald-handled dagger and gasping when a reflection is seen in the blade_

_Ben running forward with a silver stake_

**Ben**: "This has to end now!"

_Screen goes black when the sounds of shattering glass and a terrified scream are heard_

**_Gentleman's Masquerade_**

**Voiceover of older man with heavy English accent**: "Be careful. It's a dangerous dance you're stepping into."

_Coming soon to a fanfiction site near you!_

**A/N**: Good? Not good? Let me know (I hope none of you pick the second option…)! Thanks for sticking with the story, guys, and now I can truthfully say that "The Forgotten Heir" is complete. But don't worry. I'm fully prepared to tackle "Gentleman's Masquerade," so hopefully, you'll be seeing it starting to get posted soon. Keep an eye out for it! Thanks, guys, you're the best! Your reviews are still greatly appreciated, and I'll hopefully see you guys soon!

Tori


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